


My Side of the Bed

by ringomido



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: "WE'LL HAVE A GAY OL TIME" - everyone, Chrom!Inigo, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone's gay and don't know it, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Marriage, Mentions of Death, Multi, Nightmares, Revelations Route, Sharing beds, Spoilers, perhaps??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-06-10 05:23:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6941596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ringomido/pseuds/ringomido
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Corrin has had it up to here with his Nohrian and Hoshidian sibling's constantly bickering. To make an example, and with the help of an unexpected accident, he enforces a new rule of sharing sleeping spaces. They don't take it well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just a bonfire

                Corrin tried his best to put the smell away from his tired minds concern as he attempted to sleep. He slept alone in a far too wide of tent designated only for the leader; despite this fact, it was often very hard for him to get a full night’s rest without being interrupted. Tonight was no exception. Turning to his side, the Prince buried his face further into his favorite pillow and muttered to himself. Despite the time of night, there was a bon fire happening? Didn’t these soldiers understand they had a march tomorrow morning at the beginning of dawn? Granted, they did reside in the Astral Plane, and time almost always moved somewhat differently here than in the ‘real’ world. Still, they were being loud, and he needed his precious sleep.

                Opening his eyes, Corrin realized that they really were being too loud. Not just annoyingly loud, but scary loud. Sitting up in bed, the Prince gaped as he saw flames crawling their way through his belonging’s, the wall of the tent so neatly nailed down for him now succumbing to the fire’s grip. Jumping to his feet, Corrin grabbed Yato from where it resided next to his cot and made his way outside. Expecting an onslaught of enemies attacking their camp, he was obviously surprised to see his sibling’s arguing in the middle of the grounds where the Royal family tents were kept, others around them running about trying to find some way to put out the ongoing fire.

                “Your mages started this mess! We’re at war! We can’t afford to have our supplies tampered with, let alone destroyed!” Ryouma stated, his massive warrior like body trying to stare down Xander, who stood a full head higher than that of the Hoshidian.

                “Ha! Our mages are trained from the very best from early childhood! A mess like this has to be from one of your people, Prince Ryouma.” He remarked, lifting a gauntlet clad finger to point at the somewhat smaller man.

                “Why you…” Hinoka growled, her naginata clutched at her side as she stood closer to her older brother. Sakura stayed behind her, desperately tugging at both her Brother and Sister’s sleeves, hoping to pull them away before a fight started.

                “Now now, let’s not worry too much on who started it.” Camilla said, no weapon in hand though Corrin couldn’t help but think her smile was enough to threaten with. “Even if whoever did was obviously poorly trained and oh so reckless, I’m sure we can forgive you for it.” She finished with a smile, Leo smirking beside her.

                “If everyone else in the army camp can, that is.” He offered, his attention turned away from his sister as Takumi took hold of his tunic by the collar in a bout of rage.

                “Listen here you pompous, over confident bastard!” He started, Leo laughing in return as he circled one hand around the fists clutching onto him.

                “Big words for such a barbaric prince.”

                Hinoka obviously didn’t take kindly to that as she spun her naginata at Leo’s direction, causing Ryouma to start yelling at his sibling’s to stop while Xander threw his hands in the air as if they all just answered his point. Sakura continued pulling at her sister, tiny feet digging into the ground and Camilla, looking far too pleased with herself, stepped in between the two younger princes to which only aggravated Hinoka even more. Now uncovered, Corrin turned his gaze onto Elise—his beautiful little sister, now tearing up as their sibling’s fought with each other. She finally noticed his stare and with trembling lips mouthed a simple, ‘Help’ over to him.

                He was appalled. His sibling’s, though none related to him in a sense, had agreed to help Azura and him fight in Valla. He still remembered the night they all came together; the sky was a strange concoction of night and dawn, thunder roaring as his army clashed swords with that of the Nohrian. They fought their way through what seemed like countless enemies, many of their close comrades falling to the constant onslaught. But then there was Ryouma, alongside the now Late Scarlet, Hinoka and her retainers. Even with their added strength, it wasn’t until Xander and Leo, also followed by their trusty retainers, did they finally make it into Valla. They swore a pact of temporary peace and Corrin remembered tearing up at the sight of his two families finally together as one.

                But now he was just livid.

                Running over to them, he felt his body shake in anger, embarrassment—in absolute impatience for the whole ordeal. He knew thanks to his dragonstone he wouldn’t helplessly lose himself in rage like when his Mother died, but he also could sense his horns appearing on his head as he drew closer to the fighting. His attempts at containing himself failed as he finally reached the arguing and flipped.

                “That. Is. ENOUGH.” He shouted, his enraged voice shocking the group entirely as he slammed his Yato into the ground, the power emitting from the ancient sword enough to make them pause in hesitation.

                “Corrin…” His two older brothers said in unison, both speechless as their shared sibling huffed at them in anger.

                Just as Corrin opened his mouth to give them all a piece of his exhausted mind, Azura came running in, Felicia not too far behind her.

                “Now!” Azura called out, slightly out of breath as she stopped in front of what seemed to be the worse of the fires. Nodding gently, Felicia held out her hands and waited for only a moment. Suddenly, all could feel a chilling breeze rush past them and they all watched as it had absolutely the opposite effect.

                “W-What?!” Felicia cried, pulling her arms back to her as the flames grew even higher. Azura pursed her lips in disappointment before turning to the now equally upset Corrin, seemingly for advice. Clenching his teeth as he watched all his things pretty much burn into the ground, he returned his attention to his siblings, who flinched at his accusing stare.

                “Help get this fire out! You can all fight about it later, but right now we need your help!” Corrin ordered, pulling his Yato from the ground and walking past them to go investigate some way to gather water.

                “But…” Xander started only to stop when Corrin’s head turned to him. Something in the way he looked at him reminded him entirely too much of King Garon, his brother’s ruby red eyes reflecting that of the still growing fire.

                “ _Now._ ”

                They all watched him walk off in a huff, Azura and Felicia quietly excusing themselves as they followed after their leader. An awkward silence spread about the two families, the only noise able to be heard was that of the crackling flames. The first to speak after what seemed like several minutes was Leo, who merely sighed.

                “We should help.” He stated casually, gently pushing Elise over to where Sakura stood next to Hinoka. “Hinoka, can you please make sure these two are safe from the flames? Xander and I will go and see if we can help carry some water.” Though unpleased, Hinoka nodded and silently walked away with the younger girls over to where her Pegasus was standing, out from the stables due to the chaos, twitching its wings as it nervously looked on to the spreading fire.

                “What about Takumi and myself?” Ryouma asked, ignoring as Takumi glared daggers over at Leo for taking lead.

                “Since we can’t really ride out ourselves, why don’t we see if anyone needs help getting our supplies safe?” Takumi muttered, crossing his arms and beginning to walk in the opposite direction.

                “Sounds good.” Leo said, smirking as he barely made out a growl made by the other Prince. Ryouma frowned, like he normally would, and went off to join his fuming brother.

                “And what of me, my darling brother?” Camilla asked, tossing her hair off her shoulder as she turned to face Leo. Musing for a bit, he simply shrugged as he too started towards his horse.

                “Just come with us. I think we’ll need all the help we can get.”

                “You can say that again.” Xander muttered, jumping onto his horse with a sigh before riding off to where he knew the spring was.

* * *

 

                Corrin was surprised the following morning when several mages came out in confession to the Royal family during an emergency meeting. Odin stood slightly hunched over, flinching at the glare Leo gave him after the long confession. Beside him was Orochi, who smiled nervously at the group, as well as Hayato and beside him, a saddened Nyx. Apparently they had all wanted to test each other’s skills that night before and things ‘got out of hand.’ With two fingers massaging his aching temple, Corrin sighed.

                “And this was all an accident, you say?”

                “Yes, milord.” Odin confirmed, swallowing as he moved his hands behind him.

                “I take responsibility for this, Lord Corrin.” Nyx stepped forward, regret clear on her face. “I should have known such clashing magics would cause destruction. I’ll move out of the camp immediately.”

                “There’s no need for that, Nyx.” Corrin smiled softly at the ‘child’ sorcerer. He also noted how Orochi let out a relieved sigh, gazing over at the Nohrian mage. “Though this has complicated matters for our current mission, I understand this was not intentional.”

                “Then…?” Hayato started, his trembling fingers fidgeting together in front of him.

                “In ‘punishment’,” Corrin said, making air quotations tiredly in front of him. “you four will go out and help me find more supplies for our sleeping arrangements. You will also help me rebuild them.”

                “I’m sure we will gladly help, milord.” Orochi bowed, that seemingly permanent smile on her face growing along with it. “I am forever grateful for your forgiveness and can only ask to continue helping you in the future.”

                “As am I—You and Prince Ryouma.” Hayato followed Orochi, bowing deeply once to Corrin and then to Ryouma. “On behalf of the Hoshidan army, I apologize for this accident. It won’t happen again.”

                “My one and only lord, Prince Leo! I humbly ask for your forgiveness as my fell hand could not--!”

                “You’re forgiven, Odin.” Leo quickly answered, not wanting to give his strange retainer any room for his speeches.

                “Though I do not agree to such a soft punishment, I thank you and Lord Xander for your kindness.” Nyx noted, clutching a hand to her chest uncharacteristically as she gave a long stare to both Corrin and Xander.

                “Please be more careful in the future.” Ryouma remarked, tiredly beaming at the two well known diviner’s as he accepted the apology.

                “I would hate to see you two leave. Thank you.” Xander sighed, a hand coming up to wave the small group of offenders away. As they did, Corrin closed his eyes as he pretty much fell into his arms crossed on the table.

                “This was absolutely the last thing I wanted to happen today.” Corrin whined, comforted only by Azura’s equally tired giggle and her soothing hand on his back.

                “Corrin…” Xander began.

                “About last night…” Ryouma continued.

                “I don’t know what happened—it was like something sparked inside us.” Xander sighed, causing Takumi to snort at the unintentional pun.

                “I know what happened—your mages are out of control and almost caused us to lose all of our housing and supplies!”

                “If I recall from literally a few seconds ago, two of your so called infamous ‘enchanters’ were part of the problem as well, Prince Takumi.” Leo fought back, too tired to raise his voice above that of a mumble.

                “They’re ‘diviners’, you jerk.”

                “It was both of our faults.” Hinoka stated with an agitated sigh, gently pulling Takumi back from where he had leaned forward in a glare.

                “Indeed. How unfortunate.”

                “What? ‘How unfortunate’?! How can you say it so nonchalantly?” Hinoka retorted, frowning at Camilla. “Someone could have been hurt! Even worse, killed!”

                “And yet no one was, so why are you fighting back so passionately, Princess?” Camilla smiled, her eyes narrowing slightly at the now angry Pegasus knight.

                “Guys, please stop fighting!” Elise begged, a considerably nervous Sakura nodding quickly at her side. “It’s been a reallllly, reeeeaallllyyyy long night! Can’t we just get along for once?”

                “I agree.” Xander nodded, his frown deepening as he turned towards Ryouma opposite of him. “If you can convince your siblings to stop being so aggressive then perhaps we may be able to make some progress here.”

                “I’m surprised with such hostility not from _my_ siblings but from yours, Prince Xander.” Ryouma calmly replied. “And here I was just beginning to think well of you Nohrians.”

                “STOP! Stop! Just…” Corrin shouted, weakly lifting his head up to glare at his large family. “Just stop. This can’t continue. We are fighting an unknown, likely dangerous enemy that has been manipulating both of our divided countries for Gods know how long and you all can’t stop bickering long enough for us to actually advance on such a huge threat!” Azura nodded beside him, turning her gaze to Ryouma.

                “I understand that Nohr has not been Hoshido’s ally for what seems like decades. They have been, considerably, your enemy. But we are not in Hoshido right now. Or Nohr, for that matter.” With the mention of the dark kingdom she turned her golden, piercing eyes onto Xander who faltered under the stare. “We are in Valla. My homeland; very well many others, the more we learn of it. You all agreed to act peacefully in contribution to this army, this war. But this,” She gestured amongst the eight staring at her. “This is not peace.”

                “Not to mention we now have to worry about supplies and sleeping arrangements before we can even march further into this abandoned land.” Corrin added, leaning back into his chair to glance at Azura. “I’m not sure we can afford to replace all those tents in time for our advancement.” The blue headed princess tilted her head at her friend, her expression questioning at his comment.

                “Can we not gain some gold in time to replace them?” To which Corrin shook his head no.

                “What about some villages? We can probably get a deal in one of the Deep realms!” Takumi spoke up, a worried expression creeping onto his face.

                “Even then, will they be big enough like our previous tents and can we accommodate everyone who lost their belongings?” Camilla asked, pouting as she twisted a single curled strand of her lavender hair. “I lost many things last night. None too important but enough that I am left with very little in my possession.”

                “For once, Princess Camilla and I are in agreement.” Hinoka nodded, frowning at the idea of being even slightly friendly with the Nohrian.

                “I don’t believe we can replace everything right away. Perhaps after the war, when peace is finally gained, I will see to everyone’s lost possessions.” Corrin sighed. “As for the tents, we may have to share until we leave back for the border.” At that, everyone quieted down at the idea of sharing their quarters. Being Royalty, almost all of them had grown up sleeping separately of each other, so the idea was not entirely a welcomed one. Xander was the first to speak as he stood up, a hand moving to rest on Leo’s shoulder.

                “If that is how we can all move forward, then I agree, little Prince. Leo and I can share quarters until we return.”

                “I have no problem sharing with Sakura.” Hinoka added, smiling gently over to her quiet sister. Ryouma nodded, standing up as well as if they were already dismissed.

                “Then we are all in agreement?  I’m sure, Corrin, that you need some rest before we start with the rebuilding. You can go have a nap while we start.” Almost all the siblings then nodded, standing up to leave. Corrin could feel his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Nothing had been solved between them. They were going to fight even more so now that nothing was resolved. He cleared his throat loudly and stood up at the head of the table, Azura looking confusingly up at him.

                “Not so fast, everyone. I’m not done yet.”

                “What’s wrong, darling? You look angry.” Camilla said, her eyes looking him up and down as he turned stiff.

                “That’s because I am.”

                “What’s wrong, b-big brother?” Sakura asked, hunching back down into her seat almost like to prepare for whatever would come next.

                “You all. Or at least, the majority of you guys. That’s what’s wrong.”

                “What?” Leo asked, a little bit of shock showing up as he gaped at his brother.

                “What are you talking about, Corrin?” Xander inquired, placing a hand on the others arm only to have it be jutted off.

                “You all are not getting along. We have so much at stake right now and I know that these fights of yours are affecting the army.” Corrin said, glaring down at his now guilty siblings. “It’s affecting morale and everyone, even those not from Hoshido _or_ Nohr are arguing over these tensions! We need to get along! We need to do something drastic! To show that we are in a peaceful agreement!” Corrin continued, a fist hitting the table causing his two younger sisters to jump at the noise.

                “What do you propose we do?” Ryouma spoke up quietly, arms crossed as he watched his seething younger brother.

                “The tents.” Corrin simply stated. “You all will be sharing tents. But not with your siblings.” He made the point of looking at each of his sibling’s equally widening eyes. “You’ll be sharing it. With each other.” Standing up a little taller, yet another tired smile appeared on his face. “I know that if you all took the chance to get to know each other, you would all be friends.”

                “What?! You can’t honestly believe I’ll survive sleeping with…W-With that!” Takumi pointed harshly at Leo who only sneered back in return.

                “Oh, I do believe so. I believe you’ll sleep in his quarters just as he will yours because you’ll be sharing both from now on.” Corrin smirked, not in the tiniest sorry as Takumi opened his mouth up in a rebuttal to Corrin’s proposal before slowly succumbing to the order with a grumble. “The same is for everyone here—Sakura and Elise, you’ll be sharing it together.” He watched as Elise grinned and jumped over to hug the other girl who merely blushed at the attention and close contact given to her so suddenly. “Camilla and Hinoka? Together as well.”

“Fine by me.” Camilla smiled lovingly at the now reddened princess, standing up to saunter out of the meeting tent. “But you should know, Princess Hinoka—I’m a hugger.” Hinoka merely muttered to herself and followed after Camilla out of the tent.

                “Do you not think this is a bit much, Corrin?” Xander asked, standing up as well. “Surely you won’t put two commanders from enemy armies together in one bed!”

                “That! That right there! ‘Enemy’! That is why you’re going to do this for me, Xander. Because despite your declaration of peace, you still see yourself separate from that of the Hoshidian army!”

                “But--!”

                “I won’t hear it! My word is final.” Corrin held up his hand, turning away from his beloved big brother. He didn’t watch as Xander and the rest of his remaining sibling’s left, barely even listening as they muttered lowly to each other in protest to the idea. Yet none of them would fight him on that—that much he was sure of. They both knew despite not being the commander of either army, he led them all within this foreign land. Without him, none of this agreement would even had happened.

                At the sound of Azura finally standing up, Corrin turned back around and smiled at the other.

                “You don’t mind sharing with me, do you?” To which she giggled and patted his arm lightly.

                “Of course not, Corrin. I would be delighted.” Corrin grinned back at her and the two slowly made their way out onto the camp grounds of their Astral Plane.

                “Corrin?” Azura said quietly, only getting a hum in return. “This very well might be your best or worse idea ever.” The prince shared a laugh with her as he looked upon the damage the fire had caused that night before.

                “Yeah…I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooboy i'm writing again  
> 8) this was fun to write though.  
> It will be multi-chapter and I really hope you enjoy seeing these dumb royals learning to like each other  
> my tumblr is handsome-san if you ever wanna hmu with requests!  
> I appreciate every comment given to me! Good or bad! Thank you!  
> -Ringo


	2. The first night

                Corrin was almost thankful that he had ordered this change when he did—though the Astral Plane did not experience the constant shift of seasons entirely like that of Nohr or even Hoshido, it still experienced its own subtle changes. One of them, in fact, was in the middle of a change; it was getting considerably colder the longer the war went on, almost matching that of how Corrin assumed Nohr was at that moment. He almost wondered if snow would become an everyday thing and only hoped it wasn’t as heavy as that of Nohr’s harsh winters. As he babbled away to himself in his mind, he half-heartedly listened to Azura as she hummed and organized her things onto her side of the tent.

                He was glad to be rooming with the princess—they were already so close; he could only assume this would make them closer. Just as he was about to ask her something he heard someone clear their throat outside the tent’s flap. Rolling his eyes and steeling himself for what he could only assume would be one of his irate brothers, he sulked over to the entrance, ignoring Azura’s hidden laughter as she watched him do so. He was surprised to see not one of his brothers but instead a certain white haired thief.

                “Niles?” He asked, tilting his head in confusion as he stepped out to greet him properly, the light cool air of dusk making him shiver at the sudden exposer. The tanned man grinned down at the other, giving a slow bow in greeting.

                “Good evening, my lord. I trust all is well?”

                “Ah, yes! Everything is well. How is it rooming with Odin so far?” Corrin couldn’t help but push, a grin on his face as Nile’s own charming grin slowly fell, only to be recovered quite quickly.

                “I can’t complain. Oh, wait, I can.” Niles corrected, encouraged by the short laugh he got from the prince. “All is fine, if you are truly curious. No fires…Yet.”

                “Let’s hope not.” Corrin smiled. After some thought, the prince had decided to extend his new rule to everyone in the camp—all soldiers would share their quarters with that of another from the opposing army. They all had accepted it much easier than that of their royal commanders. The only exception was that of the retainers. They had all agreed it was easier if they roomed together, as they would be working with each other either way at the start of each morning. Crossing his arms as he realized just how cold it was outside, Corrin continued. “Did you need me for anything?”

                “Oh, I have many needs, milord.” Niles purred, smirking as Corrin fell into a heated blush. “But! That is for another time—another night. I come with a message from my lord Leo.” He finally stated, extending his arm out to expose the neatly folded letter that had been hidden within his palm.

                “A message? At this time of night?” Corrin snorted, holding out his hand to accept the message, trying not to notice how Niles’ kept his hand cupped within his for far longer than necessary. “I can’t wait to see what it says. Knowing my brother, it must be _terribly_ urgent.” He joked, finally opening up the paper and reading its contents, glancing up at Niles only moments later as he finished.

                “Niles?”

                “Yes, milord?”

                “This just says, ‘I can’t do this.’”

                “Yes, I am aware of its contents.”

 Corrin sighed. Deeply. He crumbled up the note and threw it aside somewhere on the ground, noting that he would have to clean it up later. But that was for another time.

                “I won’t humor him with even replying in the same medium—simply tell him to suck it up because I’m not changing anything.” The prince huffed, eyebrows furrowing as he felt his annoyance take over his judgement.

                “Exactly those words, my prince?” Niles continued to smirk, seemingly excited at the idea of delivering such a message to his already distraught lord. When Corrin nodded, he laughed. “Very well. Sleep well, Corrin.” Niles said, his stare lingering on the other in a somewhat heated gaze. “Let me know if you need any help in _aiding_ you sleep.” Corrin wanted to sigh again. He truly cared for Niles and their relationship had been dwindling on something more flirtatious than friendly but he still wasn’t sure what exactly to call it. Gently pushing the rouges shoulder in a laugh, Corrin allowed himself to blush at those suggestive words.

                “ _Good night_ , Niles.”

                When he re-entered his now shared tent, he was met with Azura’s knowing grin. Feeling his already flushed face heat up more, he shuffled back over to their shared bed and sat down which she quickly joined him. If only they had had enough in the budget to afford more than one bed for each tent. Oh, the possibilities, Corrin thought to himself.

                “How was Niles tonight, Corrin?” She giggled, only to be answered with Corrin sticking his tongue out at the princess.

                “Just fine, if you must know.” Corrin said, softly touching his shoulder with Azura’s in jest.

                “Did anything…?”

                “ _No_. No, nothing happened.” Corrin sighed, causing Azura to sigh as well.

                “You haven’t told him your feelings yet?” To which Corrin shook his head, no. “Why not?”

                “Because we have so much more at stake right now.” Corrin quietly replied, leaning back to fall on the freshly made bed in a huff. “Besides, I think he already knows. He’s too keen with that one eye of his.” Azura smiled down at her friend before standing back up.

                “I believe because there is so much at stake that we should take those chances.” As she spoke, she picked up a small cape and wrapped it around her shoulders. Sitting up slightly, Corrin cocked his eyebrow at her.

                “Oh? So that means going out to secret forest meetings with our beloved?” It was Azura’s turn to blush now and Corrin silently rejoiced in his ‘payback’. “Dancing under the moonlight, soft breaths from your heated sighs as you sing to his graceful dancing, oh! So romantic!” At that, she threw one of their now many pillows on their bed, which Corrin caught with a giggle.

                “Oh, stop that you!” Azura laughed back before turning around, tightening the knot of her cape once more before she began to leave. “I won’t be long.”

                “Mhm.” Corrin smiled. “Be safe!” And with that, she left, the flap of the tent fluttering close. Now alone, Corrin fell once more onto the bed, turning onto his side to watch as a few candles flickered gently in the corner. “I wonder how everyone is…” Corrin spoke to himself, the thought briefly falling into the bed beneath him as his eyes closed and he soon found himself asleep.

* * *

 

                Leo was not okay. For one, his tent had not even been burned down so it was absolutely insane how he had to still move in with the annoying Hoshidian prince to accommodate everyone else’s mess. Two, Takumi and him almost instantly started fighting over Gods know what the minute he walked in carrying his belongings. This carried on very well into dinner time where he finally caught Niles and passed him a note to Corrin in a final plea for help. When he got his response, that only worsened his mood. And finally, three, he could feel Takumi’s feet slowly slithering their way from his side of the bed onto Leo’s, the cold toes gently touching Leo’s back, making him jump _again_ in surprise.

                “Do you _mind_?” Leo huffed, not so gently pushing those feet away from him, annoyed as he got a whine back.

                “Yes, I do mind! And I can’t help it!” Takumi muttered, turning over so that their backs were against each other in the now considerably small bed. “It’s s-so cold out right now. How can you stand it?”

                “Because I’m not a baby like you are?” Leo retorted, feeling a bit of pride swell up at the fact that Takumi or perhaps even Hoshidian’s alike had not experienced winters like Nohr had. “It’s not even that cold out. You’re over exaggerating.”

                “I am not! It’s seriously freezing out right now! I can barely feel my poor toes.” Takumi whimpered, obviously way too effected by the on-coming winter than Leo was.

                “Well suck it up and go to sleep! It’s bad enough I have to live with you now but we also have to march in the morning.” Leo sighed, bringing his blankets closer up to his chin. He could hear Takumi grumble something back but he honestly could not care less. Ignoring the other, Leo gradually fell asleep.       

                Only to wake up a few hours later to sobbing.

                Sitting up, fully expecting Elise to be standing next to his bed and complaining about a nightmare, the Nohrian prince was awfully surprised to see Takumi crying. A closer inspection and he realized he was still asleep. Rubbing at his face in exhaustion, Leo reacted in the only way he knew how. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached out and shook Takumi’s shoulder. When the crying didn’t stop, the prince tried calling out the others name.

                “Prince Takumi…? Hello? Wake up. Takumi, wake up.” He had to speak softly, as they were near plenty of other tents within the grounds which only frustrated him further. When Takumi’s cry grew louder, Leo nearly wrapped his hand over the prince’s mouth, not wanting to wake anyone else up from it. Instead, he moved his hand just above the other’s forehead. Leo paused for a moment, not sure if this was even appropriate before he moved his hand gently through Takumi’s tied up hair.

                “It’s…It’s okay.” Leo whispered, his hand moving Takumi’s dampened bangs away in slow strokes. “It’s okay. Everyone’s okay. You’re okay.”

                Amazingly, after some time of doing this, Takumi quieted down. His face grew peaceful, though the tears continued to fall silently. Huffing at this, Leo wordlessly removed his hand and laid back into bed, simply thankful that he could return back to sleep. When he felt the other move, he nearly feared that the prince had woken up and was going to yell at him again. So, when he felt Takumi’s feet press back up against his back once more, he merely huffed at the action.

                He didn’t move the other away. And unbeknownst to himself, Leo fell asleep with a small smile.

* * *

 

                “Good night, Prince Ryouma.”

                “Good night, Prince Xander.”

                They fell asleep rather easily. Neither crowned prince carried many belongings with them as they had already grown accustomed to owning very little. They both had placed their long swords, sheathed and ready for them, beside their respected sides of the bed and after an almost silent night between the two as they looked over some battle strategies alone, they went to bed.

                The problem with this was that Ryouma was very light sleeper. It was considerably a problem of his that extended from his childhood but sleeping alone had helped him be able to achieve some nights of rest. Now that he was sharing his quarters with Xander, he saw that this was going to be a problem.

                The other snored. Loudly. Unbearably loud. He would have laughed if it hadn’t woken him up so abruptly. Ryouma swore to himself that he thought there was an explosion, that they had been attacked. He had automatically reached for Raijinto however when he realized it was the prince soundly sleeping next to him he slowly placed the weapon down. There was no way he would be able to sleep like this—he had to do something.

                Shaking the other awake wasn’t too hard, unlike Takumi he noted to himself. Xander woke up in surprise, sitting up as if he too thought enemies had invaded. When the Nohrian prince noticed Ryouma calmly staring down at him he relaxed.

                “Prince Ryouma? What’s wrong?”

                “I don’t know how to tell you this…” Ryouma murmured settling down onto the bed, his legs moving behind him, Xander silently glancing down to watch in amazement—he was quite flexible, he admitted.  

                “Tell me what?” He asked, eyebrows furrowing in worry. Had something truly happened while he was asleep? He would hate to have been a nuisance on everyone when they had needed his help. He braced himself for what Ryouma had to say.

                “You snore.”

                Blinking slowly, Xander realized that was all Ryouma had to say. Chuckling, he sat up a bit further in bed. “Ah, yes, I do snore. What about it?”

                “It’s loud. Unbelievably loud.” Ryouma said, all seriousness as he placed his hands on either leg. “It woke me up with a fright—I thought we had been attacked.” Xander gasped, now a little hurt that Ryouma would say something like that.

                “It is not that loud!” He fought back quietly, surely unbecoming of a crowned prince. “Yes, I do know that I snore but surely it’s not as bad as you say it is!” When Ryouma said nothing in return, Xander frowned.

                “My Gods, that is embarrassing.”

                “I apologize, Prince Xander.” Ryouma finally replied, bowing his head slightly. “I know that it was not my place to wake you up but you must understand something about me.” With a short pause to take in a breath, Ryouma continued. “I am a terribly light sleeper. Though I can usually work through it, I don’t think I can with your snoring.”

                Xander sighed, turning his head as he contemplated the others words.

                “I…I’m sorry about my snoring.”

                “Is there no way you can lessen the…volume?” Ryouma tried, looking away in thought as he processed his own question.

                “It’ll probably be quieter if I’m on my side, yes.” Xander nodded, already moving back down to his pillow. “Will that do?”

                “Yes, I apologize.” Ryouma nodded in return, pulling his legs out from under him and following the prince’s lead in going under the covers.

                “Well then…Good night, Prince Ryouma.”

                “Good night, Prince Xander.”

                The two fell back into a comfortable silence, Ryouma thankful that he could go back to sleep, knowing that Xander was on his side now. After several minutes of needed silence, when he was greeted once more with those ferociously loud snores, he crumbled.

                “ _Gods help us.”_ Ryouma muttered in his native tongue, quickly bringing his pillow out from under his head and over his ear, pressing down in vain hope that he could catch at least some quiet.

                Needless to say, the crowned Hoshidian prince didn’t sleep that night.

* * *

 

                “Please, _please_ let go of me.” Hinoka practically begged. Camilla frowned and slowly unraveled her arms that had been previously wounded tight around the Hoshidian princess.

                “I thought I already warned you I was a hugger.” Camilla questioned, yawning as she watched Hinoka retreat further into her side of the bed. With a sigh, the red head turned to face the Nohrian, eyes solely focused on the others face despite her unsurprisingly revealing night gown.

                “Yes, but I didn’t know you were serious!” Hinoka cried, bringing her sheets up and over her head. “It’s hard enough not sleeping on a futon on the ground but I’m not used to being…T-To being cuddled!” Through her muffled complaining, Camilla pouted, moving a hand to try and remove the sheets from the other before pulling back in a second thought. Maybe it was better to leave the other alone for the night. At least, until tomorrow.

                “You primarily slept on futons?” She asked gently, bringing a hand up to caress the braids she had worked so long on earlier before to ensure her curls would remain the next morning.

                “Yes…” Hinoka replied, lowering the sheets so that her eyes were exposed. “My entire life, in fact. It was easier that way.”

                “How so?” Camilla asked, cocking her head gently as she watched the other.

                “In the morning we could roll them up and store them away, leaving our room tided for the start of the day.” Hinoka explained, feeling comfortable enough to show her face entirely to the other princess. “Beds just feel too soft for comfort now. I don’t know how you handle it.” Camilla laughed at this, her hand falling down to the space between them.

                “Quite easily in fact.” Hinoka mused at this, wiggling to try and get more comfortable as a quiet fell between them. Flipping away her bangs that were covering her eye, Hinoka asked Camilla a question.

                “Do…Do you always cuddle in your sleep?” Camilla paused for a moment before giving a small laugh through pursed lips, smiling down at the other.

                “Since I was a baby. Though it was often replaced with toys when I was younger, when Corrin came to us, I often held him at night to calm him down.” At this, Hinoka could feel a familiar anger fill up in her. That same anger was why she trained so hard for nearly a decade after Corrin had been taken from her, from their family. Though she wanted nothing more than to fight the other on that remark, she knew there was no reason to start one so late at night. Her brothers angry face appeared in her mind and she sighed as she willed herself to calm down. No, she wouldn’t fight the dark princess on this topic again. She wouldn’t let Camilla have the satisfaction.

                “It’s uh..” Hinoka tried, clearing her throat to try and continue. “It’s late. We should sleep.” Camilla’s adoring smile fell once more into a pout, though Hinoka could still sense the same, ‘loving’ gaze being burned into her as the other sighed.

                “Very well. Let us sleep.”

                Hinoka relaxed as she watched Camilla turn away from her, feeling ‘safe’ enough to close her eyes and attempt going back to sleep. A few moments later she felt the princess’ arm circle around her once more.

                “Camilla…” She warned, causing the other to gasp and retreat her arm once again.

                “Sorry, sorry…Force of habit.”

* * *

 

                The two younger princesses of Nohr and Hoshido got along quite well in fact. Sakura was able to calm Elise down whenever she got upset or annoyed and Elise was able to bring in a certain confidence to Sakura to speak up whenever the blonde was around her. Sharing a room was going to be a blast, Elise thought as she cuddled up to her pillow even more. It was quite an easy move and the two spent the remainder of the day together, talking and walking around camp, helping clean up the remainder of the mess left from yesterday’s fire. Now, well into the night, Elise was more than content to sleep.

                The problem was, she couldn’t. Her mind was racing on how she found Leo and Takumi bickering earlier that day, Camilla and Hinoka seemingly ignoring each other as they worked on putting up some more tents and even when she went to say good night to Xander she was greeted in silence, making it awkward when she finally spoke out to gain the others attention. She was hopeful, of course, that they could all get along to some degree—if not for Corrin’s sake at least for the outcome of the war. But going through today, not even having had spent one night in under these shared rules, Elise felt discouraged.

                Opening her eyes slowly, she could see Sakura was just as awake as she was, the pink hair princess in mind seizing up when she realized Elise had noticed her staring.

                “I-I’m so terribly sorry, Elise! I didn’t mean to stare; I s-swear!” She started, sitting up slightly to wave her hands in front of herself as if that could help disperse the embarrassment she felt.

                “Sakura?” Elise asked, patiently waiting for the girl to settle back down, no longer apologizing.

                “Ah…Yes, Elise?”

                “Do you think our families will ever get along?” The blonde asked, eyes slowly filling up with tears at the idea of constant bickering alongside the war they already had to fight.

                “I...I don’t know.” Sakura answered truthfully. “It’s an ideal but…I’m not sure if it’ll happen by the time we get to the end of the war.” Elise sniffed back some tears, bringing a fist to roughly wipe at her eyes before she sighed.

                “I think I’d really like to see them all get along. Big stinky Leo getting along with Prince Takumi…” She closed her eyes, smiling at the idea of her closest sibling joking with his rival. “Camilla and Hinoka dressing up together…Ryouma and Xander being kings together…” She sniffed once more, trying to hold back a hiccup as the ideal world played before her minds eye.

                “M-Maybe that can happen.” Sakura agreed quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

                “Yeah…”

                The two had shifted slightly closer to one another through their midnight talk and silently, Elise moved her hand near Sakura’s.

                “Hey, Sakura…?”

                “Y-Yes?”

                “Can I hold your hand…At least…For tonight?”

                “Yes.”

* * *

 

                “So!” Corrin beamed as he finally made his way up to the front of the march where his multiple sibling’s stood, waiting for his call to begin. “How did everyone sleep?”

                “Surprisingly well…” Takumi answered.

                “I’ve had better.” Leo mumbled, promptly looking away as Takumi turned to glare at him.

                “We had no problems.” Xander began with a smile.

                “Sleep? What is sleep.” Ryouma said, blank face.

                “It was perfect.” Camilla smiled warmly at Corrin, Hinoka beside her on her Pegasus blushing slightly.

                “I slept really well!” Elise grinned from up on her horse, Corrin surprised to see Sakura on top as well, nodding gently.

                “It…It was good.”

                “Alllllllrighty then.” Corrin laughed, glancing over at Azura who nodded back at him. “Let’s begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who decided instead of sleeping after publishing a new story they were going to stay up two more hours and write another one THIS GUY  
> enjoy <3 Again, comments are always appreciated and you can always contact me at handsome-san on tumblr! Thanks!  
> -Ringo


	3. The first snow

                Azura briefly wondered to herself if she should invest in some shoes. The mere thought of it brought a smile to her face at the image of Corrin’s potentially hurt look appearing in her mind if she were to ask him. Usually she worked better with no shoes, her feet having grown accustomed to treading over many types of ground with no protection. It had been something from her childhood, starting when she had begun running away from the castle in Nohr, wanting at least a small amount of time away from her abusers.

                But then she met Corrin, who also wore no shoes. It was a silly coincidence but it clearly brought them closer together. As she walked slowly through the ever growing forest within their Astral Plane, she recalled back to how Corrin, slightly embarrassed to be so excited over this fact, had brought up the conversation. When she had asked the prince why he didn’t wear shoes, he merely shrugged, giving a small theory that when he was younger in the tower he had no need to go outside. Thus, he grew up with no shoes.

                Pushing back some thick branches out of her way, she felt herself relax as she finally caught sight of Laslow, practicing once again. It had been an accident at first but slowly the two got closer for their love of both music and dance. Laslow eventually opened up about his own mother, deceased or not, Azura had no idea. But it was because of this they had grown so close—it was because of this she still went out almost every night in hopes of spending some time alone with her muse.

                As she stepped forward into view, Laslow gradually took notice and beamed as she walked towards him.

                “Azura.” He said in a breath, that same old smile of his growing as she sped up her pace.

                “Laslow.” She said in return. As she drew closer, he opened up his arms for her. Grateful for any type of warmth, Azura stepped into his embrace and burrowed her face against his shoulder lovingly.

                “My lady, you’re freezing!”

                “You should warm me up, then.” She giggled. Glancing up at the mercenary, she took joy in seeing his face heat up in that adorable blush that came so easily to him. With the single light Laslow had brought for himself, Azura couldn’t help but find him so enticing. The soft, golden glare from the lamp casted shadows onto his face, bringing out features that Azura fell in love with. In contrast, the muddled darkness that came within their forest made that light all the more welcoming. She smiled with a sigh, pulling back from his embrace to quickly find his hand.

                “Laslow. Dance with me.” The man calmed down at that, stepping away so that he could get into position, knowing exactly how he would dance with the woman beside him.

                “I’m afraid there’s no music, my love.”

                “Will you help me?” Azura offered, one hand removing the cape she had around her shoulders to help shield her from the cold. “Sing with me. That song you taught me so many nights ago.” Laslow took a moment before remembering. The princess noticed his smile turned slightly sad at her request.

                “The one my mother used to sing?”

                “Yes.”

                “Anything for you.”

* * *

 

                Takumi stretched as he walked into his tent, having had already taken a bath for the night. He felt good. Far too good, in fact. Better than he had felt before—like before this war even happened. He knew his nightmares still appeared but often, within the last week that is, they quietly dispersed before they got any darker. He tried not to think too hard on the subject, in fear that would bring them back again. He liked not being exhausted in the morning, his eyes not bloodshot and his mood actually stable. He trained better throughout the day, got more done. Even in battle, he was better. It was a nice change compared to the usual mess he dealt with every night. So why was he so happy?

                As he sat on his bed, drying his hair to his best ability, he thought of the possibilities. Was it because he wasn’t sleeping alone? He recalled that sleeping with his mother often helped after he had woken up in a fright. Maybe he was just growing out of it, something that he hoped for immensely. No person, especially at his age, should be experiencing such frightening things every night. Was it Leo?

                He snorted at that thought, dismissing it before he even considered it to be even the tiniest bit true. No, that dumb dark knight was probably a contributor to some of his nightmares. He couldn’t be his ‘salvation’. Reaching for his comb, he started running it through his drying hair, getting rid of any tangles there. Maybe Orochi would know, he thought quietly as he worked through his hair. Even if he had to deal with her vast teasing—she was still someone he trusted.

                Just as he finished combing his hair came in Leo with his retainers. Sneering at Niles who only smirked at him and at Odin who was completely oblivious to his glare, he quickly grabbed a ribbon and tied his hair back up to its usual state.

                “Good evening, Lord Takumi. Sorry to interrupt you.” Niles said, only making Takumi glower even more. He had grown used to double taking every word Niles spoke as the thief was awfully good at bringing in hidden meanings to even the simplest of things. Why Leo took him as a retainer, he had no idea.

                “That’s quite alright. I was just leaving.” Takumi sniffed, standing up from bed and reaching for his bow.

                “At this time of night? Perhaps for a secret rendezvous?” Niles grinned. Choosing to not entertain him with a reply, he glanced over his shoulder back at Leo, who was seemingly ignoring him.

                “Don’t wait up for me.”

                “As if.” Leo scoffed, not breaking contact with the papers he was reading. Feeling a surge of anger run through him, Takumi rushed out and headed towards the training grounds.

                That sickening, over confident son of a bitch always did that. Always ignored him. Always answered like he had better things to do. Like Takumi wasn’t worth the effort. Just like at home. Tightening his grip on his bow, Takumi finally made it to the shooting range where, almost instantly, he started shooting at the target. He didn’t care if Leo hated him. He hated him more! He didn’t care if Leo was every fear reincarnated for Takumi—he would fight him to his grave just to prove he wasn’t scared. He didn’t care that they had to cooperate together until this damned war was over! He would gladly ignore the other until he suffocated over his own grossly muttered words! He kept shooting. It wasn’t until he felt someone’s hand on him that he stopped, blinking away his angry thoughts as he realized how far he had gone.

                The target he was shooting at had a massive hole in the middle. Damn. He probably shouldn’t practice with his Fujin Yumi anyway.

                “Lord Takumi?” He heard Oboro say. Turning to glance down at her, he felt a bit of sheepishness rush through him. He always did that.

                “Hi. Sorry. Hello, Oboro.” He nodded towards his friend. “Hinata.” The samurai addressed grinned at his lord, a wooden sword place against his shoulder as he spoke.

                “Good evening, Lord Takumi! What seems to be the problem?” The prince sighed, lowering his bow as he realized he had been caught in one of his ‘moods’.

                “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

                “Lord Takumi…” Oboro tried, this time gently. “You can tell us. If there’s anything we can do to help, we’ll do it. You know that.” Feeling his shoulders fall, Takumi sighed.

                “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just…” He started, anger flooding his thoughts again. “It’s just living with that dumb prick is so insufferable!” Before he could even continue, his two retainers groaned.

                “Lord Leo.” Oboro said simply, turning to Hinata with a frown.

                “Again.” Hinata muttered, shaking his head. Takumi was appalled! How could his retainers act like this was an everyday occurrence? Be annoyed?

                “What do you mean, ‘again’?!” Takumi started, standing a little bit taller as he grew defensive. Hinata laughed, placing a hand on his lord’s shoulder in a way that was probably far too familiar for that of a retainer, and shook him lightly.

                “Forgive us, milord. It’s simply that…”

                “You’re always complaining about him these days.” Oboro finished, frowning up at her lord as she moved her naginata to her other side. “Though it’s understandable given the circumstances…”

                “It’s bad enough everyone already thinks you two are already so alike!” Hinata jutted in, still shaking Takumi as if it was the funniest thing he heard. When Takumi didn’t respond, Hinata slowly backed away, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. “You, ah…You didn’t know, did you?”

                “No, I didn’t.” Takumi scowled. “Are people really saying that about us?!” The two retainers looked at each other for a moment, almost in contemplation before nodding back at the light haired lord. “Oh, Gods…”

                “We’re sorry that we brought it up.” Oboro interjected, a slow smile appearing on her lips. “Why don’t you practice with us, milord? Beating Hinata’s ass again will probably make you feel ten times better!”

                “H-Hey!” Hinata cried, taken aback from the sudden call out. “That was one time!”

                “Thaaat happens like, once a week.” Oboro grinned, moving out of the way when Hinata half-heartedly swung his practice sword at her. Takumi felt himself relax, a laugh leaving him as he watched his best friends fight.

                “That sounds like a great idea.” The two paused in their faux fight to grin back at their lord. Just as they made their way to pick up an extra sword for Takumi did it begin to snow. Takumi stood back from under the cover of the weapons shed, gazing up as little flakes floated down. It wasn’t unusual for Hoshido to get snow, he remarked to himself. They experienced the seasons just as much as Nohr did—hell, they might have experienced more than their enemy neighbors, granted they experienced actual sunlight.

                But this—it was something different. The moon was still out, the flakes spread out at the moment due to the lack of cloud cover. Because of the soft silver light, Takumi could see each and every individual snow flake tumble down, melting into the ground below. It was a moment of actual peace within the Astral Plane, the army camp, their temporary ‘home’. It was beautiful. As a rather large piece met his cheek, his retainers appeared at his side with equally charmed smiles.

                “Maybe we should call it off until the morning?” Hinata suggested softly, Oboro and Takumi chuckling at the sudden comment.

                “If we don’t get snowed in, that is.”

                “I doubt it’ll come to that, milord.” Oboro giggled before turning around to close the weapons sheds door and asking Takumi a question. “Would you like us to walk you back to your tent?”

                “I’ll be okay. Thank you, though. I appreciate the distraction.” Takumi admitted, taking in their overjoyed faces at his small bout of praise. With that, he bid them farewell, the two calling out a ‘Good night!’ as they raced back to their tent. Now alone, Takumi took the time to enjoy walking back to his own room. The flakes reminded him of the sakura petals that would fall at the beginning of each new spring season. The trees that was his own sister’s namesake was always his favorite to visit, especially with his mother.

                Mikoto. He hadn’t thought of her in what seemed like years. Not in way that haunted him, that is. At the beginning of the war, when it was still Nohr against Hoshido, he had nightmares of her death. Her screams that echoed throughout the chaos of the now destroyed town square. Her body, suddenly so small in Corrin’s arms as she choked something out to him. How she had to be forgotten for Gods know how long as they tried to control Corrin who had broken out into a rage. Those dreams tormented him. She tormented him. Instead of Corrin, it was himself. She would cry out to him, to Ryouma, to anyone for help. But he never could. No matter what he tried, night after endless night that was full of repeating nightmares, she always died. Not the best way of remembering someone he held so close to his heart.

                But his nightmares as of late had grown into something far scarier. Something similar, with the same lack of control, but with a heightened sense of urgency. Of betrayal. Shaking his head, Takumi forced himself to smile as the snow grew heavier. Maybe they really would wake up snowed in. As it fell heavier and heavier on him, Takumi felt his excitement heighten, his pace picking up as he saw his tent in the distance. Walking in, he allowed that excitement to get the best of him as he openly called out for Leo to tell him about the snow.

                When he saw the other prince on the bed reading a heavy looking book, not look up at his name, Takumi felt a bit of embarrassment wash over him. He instantly regretted calling out to him, because when Leo finally did glance up at him, snow melting and flushed cheeks and all, the prince smirked.

                “Yes, Prince Takumi?” Takumi could feel his face turn sour. He felt belittled, even with such a simple greeting. Shaking his head, he turned towards his chest full of clothes and started to undress his now soaked shirt.

                “Nothing. Forget about it.”

                “No no. Something obviously got you excited.” Leo hummed, the sound of his book closing loud within their small quarters. Takumi could hear the other slide off their bed and walk towards the entrance. The Hoshidian felt no need to see Leo’s face as he discovered the simple snow fall. Freshly changed, Takumi hurried over and under the covers.  “Snow? That’s what you got excited over?”

                “Shut up…” Takumi muttered, the reply muffled enough that Leo didn’t hear.

                “I don’t think I’ve been excited for snow since I was a kid…” He heard Leo sigh. That irritated him. Takumi didn’t have to see his face to know what expression the dark prince would be showing. That jerk—he was making fun of him!

                “Hurry up and tie the flap shut! It’s cold enough as it is already.” Takumi spoke up, pulling more of his blanket around him as he felt a short breeze pass over top. With only a hum in return, the archer was relieved that the topic was dropped. Closing his eyes completely, Takumi welcomed the dark and tried not to focus on the other as Leo went around, blowing out the candles and lamps. When he felt the other silently crawl in next to him, he allowed his guard to drop completely and sleep easily took him for the night.

                His nightmare appeared, as expected. However, before his mother could cry out to him again, for what seemed like the hundredth time since her passing, he felt a warmth slowly soothe him, brushing away his tears. He dreamt instead of his father and mother, watching over him as he returned back to a deep sleep, protecting him.

* * *

 

                Xander woke up to a pillow being smooshed against his nose. He made a noise that was somehow between a gasp and a snort and thrashed around until the pillow fell off his face. Sitting up and panting from sheer adrenaline, he groaned when he saw Ryouma’s irritated face.

                “This,” He gasped, roughly passing the pillow back at the samurai. “Can’t keep happening.”

                “Funny.” Ryouma sighed, rubbing at his face, his eyes being pulled down by the weight of his hand. “I was just about to say the same to you.” Sleepy and annoyed, Xander threw up his hands in exasperation.

                “What do you want me to do?! I don’t know why I snore and I definitely don’t know how to stop it!” With a grunt, Xander stood up from bed, reaching for his coat and boots. “Maybe I should speak with Corrin. This is causing far more trouble than necessary.”

                “No!” Ryouma said abruptly, throwing his pillow at Xander’s head. Recoiling back from the sudden blow, the crowned prince slowly turned to his ‘roommate’ and growled.

                “Did you actually just throw your pillow at me, Prince Ryouma?” He watched as the warrior of a prince straightened his back, his hand gradually falling back to his side, but not entirely down.

                “So what if I did? What are you going to do, Prince of Nohr?”

                There was a moment of pure intensity, the two rivals staring each other down with what little light they had pouring in from outside. Ryouma didn’t dare move his body, but Xander could see from the corner of his eye the man’s fingers twitching in anticipation. Fearing he was dragging it out far too long, Xander reached for the pillow now at his feet and threw it back at the Hoshidian. But Ryouma was ready, armed with Xander’s pillow. Blocking his head, once Xander was without a ‘weapon’, he threw the second pillow at the blonde. Said blonde dodge with quick precision, ignoring the crash of papers that were hit and taking the pillow from the mess. He turned to counterattack but was surprised when Ryouma had taken all the pillows from their bed into a little pile.

                “Oh no.”

                “For the glory of Hoshido!” He cried, throwing as many pillows as he could. Xander could barely see within the dark but that didn’t stop him from noticing Ryouma’s wide grin. Catching a few in mid air, he repelled them back just as fast.

                “For the glory of _Nohr_!” He corrected, finally hitting the warrior, square in the face. Laughing, he took an absent pillow from the end of the bed and practically jumped on the other, hitting him lightly over and over again. “No mercy!” Ryouma began laughing madly at this, his booming voice surely echoing throughout the small sleeping grounds.

                “Gods, I give! I give! Forgive me!” He chuckled, raising his arms to try and catch the pillow in its assault. With one final hit, Xander sat back on his heels, out of breath and chuckling.

                “Who knew the first prince of Hoshido was so weak?” He joked, laughing a bit harder when Ryouma quickly replied to the taunt with one last pillow to the face.

                “Be quiet, you. I’m man enough to admit you won this round. But don’t be surprised if I show _you_ no mercy next time.”

                “Next time? You think there’s going to be a ‘next time’?” Xander asked as he slowly slipped off the other, a pillow sitting in his lap as he got comfortable and came down from his high.

                “I don’t see why not.” Ryouma shrugged, combing back some of his long hair that had fallen on his face. “It’s…different with you, Prince Xander.”

                “How so?”

                “You’re an equal.” He admitted, making Xander cock his head in confusion. With a sigh, the Hoshidian explained.

                “You should understand best what I’m getting at. As crowned prince of an entire nation, many people look up to you.” Ryouma stated, his hand still combing through his long, eccentric hair. “Or, there are people who look down on you for simply being that of royalty. Even within my large family, there are those who look up to me.” He sighed, casting aside a glance at the blonde before staring back down at the bed. “It can be unbelievably exhausting…An entire nation’s future resting on your shoulders.” When Xander didn’t reply, he took that as a sign to continue. “Even if we do not share the same opinions on many different matters…You neither look down or up at me. I feel comfortable with that knowledge.” When Xander continued to stay quiet, his lips pursing at this confession, Ryouma forced his gaze upon him. “Is this not true?”

                “Perhaps it is. I have yet to really think so deeply on our social standings, Prince Ryouma.” Xander mumbled. Within a short pause between the both of them, Xander took the time to stand up and clean their surrounding’s. “If you were to come back to me later on, perhaps I will have an answer for you.” He smiled, handing Ryouma back two pillows.

                “Always so formal, Prince Xander?” Ryouma smirked.

                “Not always…Only if the mood is right.”

* * *

 

                “Oh Gods!”

                “What’s the matter, dear?” Camilla cooed, bare chested as she turned towards Hinoka walking in late.

                “I-I am so sorry! I didn’t see anything!” Hinoka tried, her face completely ablaze as she covered her eyes with her hands. “C-Can’t you react like a normal person?!”

                “And how should I react?” Camilla sighed, finally pulling on her night shirt and walking up to the embarrassed red head. “Like how you are?”

                “Well…Y-Yeah.” Hinoka said, allowing Camilla to finally peel her hands from her reddened face. “I really am sorry…” Camilla waved it off, much to the princess’ surprise.

                “We’re both women, darling. I’m not ashamed of myself and neither should you.” When Hinoka refused to meet the other’s eyes, the Nohrian frowned. “Unless it bothers you. Then I’ll try my best to warn you next time you come in.” Relieved to hear that, Hinoka finally met Camilla’s intense gaze, a nervous frown pulling at her lips.

                “It was just surprising, that’s all…” Clearing her throat, she pulled her hands from Camilla’s and started to take off her training gear. “What are you doing up so late anyways? I thought Corrin called for a meeting first thing in the morning?” She watched absentmindedly as the curvaceous woman walked over to her side of the room, continuing to fold her clothes back into her storage.

                “I decided to go for a little walk with my retinue when it started to snow.” Hinoka blinked as a cautious yet beautiful smile appeared on the others lips. “Corrin must be so excited. He always loved it when Xander and I took him out to play.” Turning away at yet another memory brought up by the dark princess, Hinoka kept repeating to herself internally not to cause another fight. Her jealousy was definitely one of her worst traits, though she was surprisingly better at containing it than her counterpart. “You were out training, yes?” Finally stripped of the padding and added weights she routinely wore whenever she practiced, Hinoka sighed and nodded.

                “I was feeling a little rusty during yesterday’s fight.” She admitted with a tense smile. “I thought I could sneak in some more practice before we—“ She was interrupted by a gasp and a sudden impact from the princess.

                “Darling, you’re all bruised up!” Her face heating up once more, Hinoka glanced down to her arm that was currently being manhandled by Camilla. It was true—she did take quite the beating last battle. Having been thrown off her Pegasus, Hinoka had resorted to fighting on ground for the majority of the fight. Though she was quick on her feet, she had better control on her mount, resulting in her getting knocked around far easier.

                “It’s nothing.” Hinoka explained, trying to pull herself away. “This just proves that I need to train even more.”

                “Nonsense.” Camilla interjected, a stern look on her face that reminded Hinoka of a mother scorning her child. “We should see Sakura or Elise in the morning. Just to make sure these heal correctly.” With a ‘tsk’, Camilla gently lowered her hands until she was holding onto Hinoka’s. “You should have told me.” The anger that had been piling up within her finally reached its peak and with that, Hinoka tugged her arm away from Camilla harshly.

                “I don’t need to tell you anyth—Ah!” Interrupted once again, the red head clutched onto her arm, hissing as a sharp pain washed over her. “Crap.”

                “What’s wrong?” The other woman asked, hands hesitantly hovering over where Hinoka held on.

                “N-Nothing, it’s nothing, it’s just…” Taking in a breath, Hinoka tried to release her arm, her neck stretching to try and get the pain to subside only to gasp as the sharp pain returned. “I think I pulled something is all.” She groaned.

                “Do you need some help?” Camilla offered, already walking beside the girl as she shuffled over to their bed and sat down. “Perhaps a massage?”

                “Ah.” Hinoka gulped, scared that the dark princess would actually force her into one. Her mind began to jumble up just at the thought of being so intimately touched and she quickly shook her head in short movements. “No. Maybe later? I think I just need to lie down and get some sleep.”

                “Alright, dear. Let me at least help you under the covers.” Not that Hinoka had much control over that, she helped Camilla help her by picking up her legs and slinking them in under the sheets just as Camilla lifted them up. Offering a quiet thank you, she noticed that same smile appeared on the others face and watched as the princess walked around the room, blowing out the candles that had been burning for far too long.

                “Good night, Hinoka.”

                “G’night…”

* * *

 

                Quite slowly, as to not disturb Elise sleeping beside her, Sakura pulled out her dolls that she kept beneath their cot. She enjoyed sharing her space with Elise. The energetic girl was everything Sakura wished she could be; confident yet emotional, silly and beautiful. Though she was the complete opposite of what she had expected a princess from _Nohr_ to act like, she still was happy to get to know the other. They even had spent the majority of the day discussing music—Sakura had no idea the ‘violin’ had such a gorgeous sound! It resounded nicely in Elise’s arms, she thought.

                Still, she didn’t want to seem childish in comparison to the beautiful princess beside her. However, Sakura found it difficult to sleep on certain nights without her dolls in her arms. Organizing them by height, the pink haired princess sighed softly as she cuddled them close to her chest. Just being able to hold them like this brought a sense of peace to her mind—and with their campaign against Valla getting increasingly more and more difficult every battle, Sakura couldn’t help but fear the worse for her sibling’s.

                “Oh, you have dolls?”

                Screaming in the middle of the night probably wasn’t the best idea. But Elise had scared her! Scared her so much that she threw her dolls up into the air. As they fell around them, she turned to shakenly stare at her friend, frightened tears in her eyes as she addressed her.

                “Y-You’re awake?”

                “I couldn’t sleep.” Elise admitted with a grin. Sakura could feel herself falling into that grin, her trembling arms stilling as she rolled over to face the blonde. When she noticed one of her dolls in Elise’s hands, she panicked once more.

                “Don’t!”

                “What do they look like? I can’t really see like this.” She said, squinting and turning her head, a long curl falling out of her bun that she had worked so hard on earlier that night. Taking only a few moments to realize Elise wouldn’t give it back, Sakura sighed and settled back down into her spot, her hands finding her other dolls to gather them safely back up.

                “They resemble my sibling’s.”

                “What?!” Elise gasped, impressed as she held up what appeared to be Ryouma’s impersonation. “That’s so cool! Did you make them?” When Sakura nodded, Elise sat back a bit and held up ‘Ryouma’ even higher. “Whoaa.”

                “It’s…” Sakura hesitated. Her sibling’s knew of her collection—even Kaze knew by chance. It wasn’t necessarily a secret! So why was it so hard for her to admit to Elise what they were for? As she watched the girl inadvertently play with the doll, she smiled softly to herself. No—she could trust Elise. She wanted to. “They’re for the war…Because everyone is always fighting.” Elise seemed to pay attention after that, lowering the doll to her lap as she listened. “At first, I wasn’t allowed to fight. I had trained the yumi, but both my mother and Ryouma thought I was too young to be in battle. S-So when she died…I tried to convince Ryouma again that I could help. For a while, he insisted that I stayed a healer.” Sakura glanced down at her four dolls in her hands, the fifth one tenderly being toyed with by her friend. “So I-I made these…Just in case something was to happen to them. I wanted to feel safe…I wanted to keep them close, just like I wanted to keep my actual sibling’s close.”

                “But you’re fighting now.” Elise mumbled, sheepishly handing back ‘Ryouma’ to join the other’s. Sakura accepted it and smiled.

                “Yes. I’m not strong enough to be on the front lines like Ryouma or Hinoka…Even Takumi can fight closer to them than I can.” Clutching them once more to her chest, she sighed. “So I keep these close. Just in case I can’t make it in time to heal them. Just in case…In case…”

                She stopped when she felt Elise take her hand once more. The girl seemed fond with holding hands—throughout the week, even when they were walking back from battle, Elise would casually seek out Sakura’s hand. It was a small comfort and it was something that Sakura didn’t want to lose.

                “You are strong enough.” Elise said, her voice just soft enough that Sakura knew she wasn’t ‘trying’ to be serious like usual—she was. “You’re strong enough. Just like I am. Just like big brother Corrin and Xander and Prince Ryouma. We’ll see peace again, Sakura.” She took Sakura’s other hand and when she looked up, Sakura could see one of Elise’s wide, familiar smiles. “I promise.”

                “…Mm.” Sakura hummed, smiling back as they fell backwards onto their bed, both giggling for a moment. “I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I had so much trouble writing Takumi's pov for this chapter! He's just so confusing 8(  
> He was also the longest ahaha  
> whooooooooooooooooooooooooooo 5000 words is A LOT  
> but it's worth it.  
> Hope you enjoy!  
> -Ringo


	4. Rise before the Fall

 

                Corrin walked into the main bathing area sometime after lunch. They had set up times for everyone so that there was equal opportunity for every soldier to get in a bath. They had spent the majority of that morning planning for their expected battles now that they were about to enter Valla’s castle. Not knowing what they were going to have to face, Corrin and his brothers, alongside a reluctant Azura, argued over what were the best tactics to take to ensure the safety of their soldiers. They agreed, after many hours of back and forth opinions, to create two groups to assault with—the royal siblings alongside their retainers being crucial to each group. The main horde of the soldiers that resided in the camp would be split up—it was just a manner of who went in with who. 

                Corrin finally called for lunch yet stayed behind his exhausted brothers to run over the notes a few more times. After Jakob pretty much forced the prince out of the meeting tent and into the mess hall, he decided to take advantage of the much needed break with taking his time ticket for his bath.

                And he needed it. He scrubbed at the grim and dirt for a while, starting at his always exposed feet before ending with his short, black hair. As he poured yet another tub of water over his body, he watched satisfied as the dirt washed away and vanished into the drain nearby. Standing up, Corrin finally made it into the main bathing area where a large pool of heated mineral water waited for him. Slipping into the hot mixture, Corrin exhaled a deep breath, happy to finally be relaxing. Through the fog, he noticed his Hoshidian brothers across from him, deep in conversation.

                “Ryouma! Takumi!” Corrin called out, grinning when they turned to see him.

                “Corrin! Funny running into you here.” Ryouma smiled back, slowly moving over to sit next to his younger brother.

                “I really needed a bath.” The prince replied, laughing as Takumi chose to float over instead.

                “Gods, I think we all needed this. I could literally die here and I wouldn’t even be mad.”

                “That would be a first.” Corrin joked, laughing harder when the other splashed him.

                “We were actually just about to leave.” Ryouma interjected, just before Corrin had started a water fight with the archer. “Takumi kept telling me, ‘Ten more minutes, brother.’ I think I might melt if I stay here any longer.”

                “Aw, come on…” Ryouma made a booming laugh, reaching over to pull Takumi up into a seating position.

                “I’ll see you two later?” Corrin asked, waving slightly as the two stood up.

                “Of course. We still need to plan not only the troops but what supplies we’ll need to bring.” Corrin nodded at Ryouma’s reply, trying not to giggle as his younger brother continued to complain as the samurai pretty much dragged him through the water and over to the edge. When they finally exited, Corrin leaned back with yet another sigh as the silence slowly filled the room. Simply to be interrupted by Takumi yelling out, ‘Your shirt is inside out again!’ and what Corrin could only assume as Leo’s annoyed shout in return. Minutes later, Xander walked in, smiling gently at the other.

                “Hello, little prince. How’s the water today?”

                “Fantastic.” Corrin groaned, slipping further into the water as his elder brother chuckled.

                “You always did love bath time.” The crowned prince remarked, slipping in a few spaces away from him. “Leo will be here shortly. He got a bit flustered in the change room.” Corrin grinned.

                “That sounds like him.”

                “What sounds like me?” Leo huffed, quickly stepping into the open bath, his hair disarrayed from his quick shampooing.

                “Just your constant mishaps with your clothing.” Corrin turned his attention to his younger brother, the blonde frowning as his face flushed.

                “It’s embarrassing…”

                “It just reminds us that you’re human.” Xander said, moving his hand to pat down Leo’s hair, the younger prince gently pushing that hand away.

                “Exactly!” Corrin agreed, nodding his head. “We all have our own little quirks but that’s what makes us special! Don’t worry about it, little brother.” When Leo grunted back, still clearly embarrassed, Corrin decided to change the subject. “How is it living with Ryouma and Takumi?”

                “Surprisingly okay.” Xander said, cupping some of the water and splashing his face. “Prince Ryouma and I have been able to get along quite well, actually. We seem to be more alike than different.”

                “Hah! I wish it was like that with Prince Takumi.” Leo scoffed, crossing his arms in the water. “We’re always fighting over the simplest of things.”

                “Maybe that’s because you two are so alike, brother.” Xander said, Corrin laughing at Leo’s shocked face.

                “What?”

                “You two are practically twins.” Corrin continued, patting the blondes shoulder. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing either! If the two of you actually _talked_ ,” to which Leo sneered at his brother. “Maybe you both could see how many things you have in common. I think you two could be really good friends if given the chance.”

                “Unlikely…” Leo muttered, slipping further and further into the hot water. Were things really that bad? Corrin felt a bit of remorse for embarrassing his brother so badly. Sitting up, Corrin started to talk.

                “Leo…”

                He was interrupted as Keaton pretty much belly flopped into the bath over top of them, his surprise entrance making all three princes shout suddenly.

                “What in Gods name—“

                “Who is that?”

                “Keaton?!” Corrin called, lifting up an arm to shield himself as the wolfskin stood up and shook out his ‘fur’. He started to move about, grinning to himself, reminding Corrin entirely too much of that of a puppy experiencing its first bath.

                “Keaton!” He heard behind him, turning around to see a flustered Kaden carefully walking into the bathing area.

                “Kaden, it feels so great! You should come in too!” Keaton called out, having turned around to speak to the kitsune only to finally see the three there. “Oh.”

                “Keaton! You’re supposed to wash yourself before you get into the bath!” The ginger sighed, the towel around him slipping as his tail started to move cautiously back and forth beneath.

                “Really?”

                “Yeah, ok.” Corrin mumbled, standing up quickly and getting out of the bath. “I’ll leave that for you, Kaden.” He smiled awkwardly, patting the other on the shoulder as he reached for his own towel near the entrance. “I’ll see you both later, Xander, Leo!” The two didn’t respond as they watched in mild disgust as Keaton refused to get out, embarrassed. Shaking his head at his soldiers, Corrin bumped into a chest as he entered the exit, nearly slipping if not for the hand grabbing his arm. “I’m so sorry! I should have been paying attention!” He apologised, face heating up as he adjusted his already falling towel around his waist.

                “That’s quite alright, milord.” He heard someone purr. Glancing back up once his towel was secured, Corrin almost laughed.

                “Niles!”

                “Hello.” Niles grinned, his hair dripping from his wash before. “How convenient I would catch you in this position, Lord Corrin.”

                “I already told you to call me just ‘Corrin’.” The prince insisted, feeling self-conscious as he watched the rogue look him up and down. He felt himself heat up under that gaze and started to walk around the other. “And I’m sorry but you just missed me.”

                “Aw, you won’t stay for little ol’ me?” Niles tried, stepping closer to the flushed prince.

                “I-If you really wanted to see me,” Corrin mumbled, shyly looking up at the white haired man. “You could always come see me in my tent.” Niles laughed, his hand returning to Corrin’s arm, caressing it.

                “I might just take you up on your offer, milord. But for now, I’ll let you leave.” Corrin let out a breath of relief, glad he could leave just before things got too heated. He honestly couldn’t control himself around the man. After weeks of pinning and simmering heat between them, Corrin was afraid he would get jumped—or worse, he would jump Niles.

                “Very well. I’ll talk to you later, Niles.” He nodded at the retainer, smiling as he turned back to the exit. Just as the other removed his hand from Corrin’s arm, Niles’ hand moved down and gently tugged at the prince’s towel. It slipped, almost completely exposing Corrin to the others amused gaze. He gasped, quickly moving to grab his towel and spinning around to half-glare at the now laughing rogue.

                “Niles! You can’t _do_ that!”

                “I just wanted a little taste!” He concluded, expertly moving out of the way when Corrin swung his hand at him. Choosing not to chase after him, the prince simply stuck out his tongue and continued on his way.

* * *

 

                Leo stomped through the snow, thankful his boots were covering the majority of his legging’s. It snowed far more than anyone had expected and they weren’t exactly prepared for the sudden change. So far, thanks to Mozu and the rest of the workers who had been farming for the past little while, they had enough food to last for hopefully the end of the war. If properly rationed, they should live comfortably alongside the snow. Leaving from the weapons room, having looked over the stocks with the Hoshidian retainer, Subaki, Leo made his way to the meeting tent where his brothers and fellow Prince’s of Hoshido were waiting for him.

               All around him there were soldiers and retainers running about, trying to get as many things done before Corrin addressed the plan for tomorrow’s march. Each battle was getting increasingly harder, Leo could admit that—he didn’t want to admit, however, that he wasn’t hopeful. He really wasn’t. Many times during the night when Takumi’s nightmares kept him up, his mind would wander and he would ask himself what he was doing here. Could they really end this madness with their lives intact? Could he fight against his father, beside a Hoshidian prince and not be declared a traitor? By definition, he was a traitor to his country already. A prince, planning to dethrone his King, his father. Leo was thankful he at least was not alone in this—Corrin and his Nohrian sibling’s together once again. If he had been the only one to leave Nohr or even worse, the only one left _in_ Nohr, Leo didn’t think he could have survived.

              Finally arriving at the tent, Leo was suddenly stopped by Prince Ryouma.

                “Prince Leo! Have you see Takumi? He hasn’t arrived yet.” The warrior of a prince noted, looking a tad worried. Taken aback, Leo shook his head.

                “I haven’t been back to our quarters for a few hours now. If you like, I can go get him.” Leo suggested, trying to be polite to the crowned prince. When Ryouma agreed, Leo quietly excused himself and started back towards the sleeping grounds. He didn’t necessarily want to get the other but he couldn’t say that in front of the Hoshidian’s elder brother. Besides, it wasn’t like they could start without the prince. Much to his disliking, Leo gave Takumi some credit to his ideas; The young man knew his tactics. He couldn’t help but absentmindedly wonder how the prince would be like in Chess.

                Entering their tent, he was greeted to a familiar whimper. Leo glanced over to their bed to only see the archer curled up for a nap, admittedly witnessing another nightmare as he slept. The dark prince sighed. What had Takumi witness in his short life that caused him to be in so much pain? He felt a surge of pity—or perhaps protection over the other as he walked over to sit next to him.

By habit, he started stroking Takumi’s hair back, shushing him softly. After a few weeks of doing this, it became natural for Leo; he even felt the urge during the day whenever the other would get frustrated during meetings or practice. He wanted to soothe that feeling away, making that crease between the boy’s eyebrows fade, that frown turn into a smile. Too scared to dwell further into those feelings, Leo blocked off his thoughts and refocused on the still whimpering boy beneath him.

                “You’re okay, Takumi.” He murmured. “It’s okay. Everyone’s okay. Calm down.” Quickly moving away when he saw the other stir, Leo redoubled his efforts and chose to instead shake the other awake. They really couldn’t be late. Only, when he started to shake him Takumi turned around. Leo’s heart froze.

                Oh no.

                Oh no, he saw. He woke up. He knew Leo had been touching him, touching his hair, speaking to him like they were close. Leo’s face exploded into a brilliant red and he pretty much jumped from their bed. Takumi stayed silent, eyeing Leo questionably, a soft blush appearing at the top of his cheeks as he slowly sat up.

                “What…”

                “I’m so sorry.”

                “What were you just doing?” Takumi asked, though it sounded like he wasn’t expecting an answer. Leo backed into a table, shaking his head.

                “I…”

                “Why were you touching me?”

                “Y-You! You were...!” Leo started, interjected as the other launched at him.

                “What the hell is wrong with you?!” Takumi roared, grabbing Leo’s collar and shaking him. Taking Takumi’s wrists in his hands, Leo attempted to pull him off, all the while yelling back just as loud.

                “What? Nothing! What the hell is wrong with _you_?! You’re the one with these…These...”

                “These what?!” The prince shouted, still shaking Leo.

                “These god damn episodes!” Leo finally answered, making Takumi visibly angrier. “Listen for a second! It’s not what it looks like!”

                “Oh, this is going to be rich.” Takumi scoffed, pushing the other away from him and crossing his arms. “What does it look like, Prince of Nohr?” Glaring back with just as much ferocity, Leo fixed his clothes as he answered.

                “Look. For the past few weeks you’ve been…” He took a moment to think of a better word. “Experiencing nightmares? Really bad ones? They keep waking me up.” At this, Leo noticed the blush on Takumi’s annoyed face deepen. “I tried a few things but you would never wake up. So…I did the next best thing…” Leo finished, glancing elsewhere as he finally confessed his little routine. “Maybe it just came from dealing with Elise’s nightmares or…I don’t know…It was the only thing that seemed to work and I never questioned it.” When the other didn’t reply, Leo sighed and walked around him. “Not that it matters now. If it really bothers you, I’ll stop. For now, everyone is waiting for us.” Just as he made it to the entrance he heard Takumi call for him.

                “Prince Leo?” He turned, expecting some other nonsense like Takumi telling him to pack up his things and move out or maybe he was going to just attack him again. When he saw the other look at him with possibly the saddest eyes he had seen yet, something in Leo broke. “I’m sorry.”

                “No,” Leo shook his head, glancing away once again as he willed himself not to blush at these foreign feelings surging through him. “ _I’m_ sorry.”

                “No, I mean…” Takumi sighed. “I do have nightmares…Since I was a kid, they were just…they’re a common occurrence.” Leo blinked at this acknowledgement, waiting for the other to continue. “I didn’t know I was being so loud…it’s, ah,” Takumi chuckled awkwardly, slowly walking forward to meet the other at their tents flap. “It’s embarrassing.”

                “I haven’t told anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Leo said quietly, feeling himself smile softly.

                “That’s not what I’m worried about.” The Hoshidian shook his head. “What you were doing or should I say what you have been doing these few weeks…” Takumi took a moment before he met Leo’s hesitant gaze. “Well, it’s been helping. Immensely. It’s just embarrassing because…I haven’t slept so well like that in what seems like months. So…Thank you.”

                Leo was surprised. He had never seen Takumi so emotionally and visibly vulnerable before—at least, awake he hasn’t. A bit lost for words, Leo swallowed and nodded just as awkwardly at the prince.

                “Well…” He coughed, not sure how to really go about this moment. “I’m glad that I’ve been such a help.” Takumi looked away and nodded again. A silence dribbled down between them before he coughed once more. “We should really head to that meeting.”

                “Crap.” Takumi laughed, moving back to the bed where his boots laid. “You’re right. Sorry.”

                “Do you always apologize this much, Takumi?” Leo asked with a smirk.

                “Shut up…” The archer replied with a small smile. Leo felt their whole dynamic change as he waited for the other only to have him rush past, shouting something about a race. As he shook his head and started after the still embarrassed prince, Leo could tell things were going to be different between them.

* * *

 

               

                “How are the healers? Do we need to purchase some more staves for them before we head out in the morning?” Xander asked as the two men walked back to their tent for the night. Some time after dinner, Corrin and them had finalized a plan and had announced it to the rest of the camp; Xander and Ryouma would lead both groups with an equal mixture of Nohr’s and Hoshido’s finest soldiers willing to come to battle. The rest of the royal family would be split up as well—Sakura and Camilla and Leo with Ryouma’s group, the two being able to help pull them through with their knowledge of magic and Takumi, Hinoka and Elise with Xander—Takumi being ideal to help lead Nohr’s archers through the first battle.

                “I’ll have to ask Sakura about it.” Ryouma said, a hand finding his sword as anticipation settled deep within the more they discussed tomorrow’s fight. “I was thinking of giving—AH.” Just as Ryouma spoke, he slipped on some ice, struggled for a bit, before landing face first into the snow beneath. He could hear the Nohrian pause beside him but when he looked up he wasn’t honestly surprised to find Xander trying and failing to control his laughter.

                “Y-You just…” Xander laughed, a hand moving to try and cover his mouth as if that would help his newly renowned case of the giggles. “Floop! Face first!”

                “Floop?” Ryouma muttered, frowning as he rolled onto his back, ignoring the grin crawling up his face. “Enough! Help me up!” Extending his hand, he waited patiently for the paladin to take notice. Wiping at his eyes, Xander finally reached down to help pull Ryouma up.

                Only to be pulled down, face first.

                “Hah!” Ryouma rolled out of the way, nearly being crushed beneath the other man. “It seems I stand corrected. That is rather funny.”

                “You bastard.” He heard the Nohrian snarl. Grinning in return, the samurai stumbled his way back up with a laugh.

                “Let me help you up.” Ryouma offered, feeling proud of himself for having outwitted the other prince. Xander accepted his hand and as he pulled him up, Ryouma was met with a roughly packed ball of snow to the face. “Really?!” Xander laughed loudly, standing up and running a few paces away from the Hoshidian.

                “I’m sorry.” He sighed, still giggling. “That was unbecoming of me—AH!” Ryouma didn’t allow him to finish as he quickly packed his own ball and threw it at him.

                “Is _this_ really becoming of two princes?” Ryouma called out, dodging as Xander messily tossed one at him. “Two crowned princes of divided countries, at that!”

                “If I am to be honest, Prince Ryouma…” Xander huffed, shielding himself as a few hit his chest. “I cannot find it in myself to care at the moment.” Out of the corner of his eye, Ryouma noticed the dark prince’s retainers walking towards them, talking amongst themselves. Xander saw this as well and with a wily grin, suggested something. “Why don’t we make this more interesting, Prince of Hoshido? Laslow! Peri!” The two glanced up and hurried over to their lord.

                “What is it, Lord Xander?” Peri asked, her curled pigtails gently swaying from her skipping over. Laslow was a bit behind, having slipped somewhat as he had rushed over.

                “Milord?”

                “You two will assist me,” Xander started, tossing the soft ball of snow at Laslow. “in beating Prince Ryouma in a fight.”

                “With…Snowballs, your highness?” Laslow laughed, glancing hesitantly at the waiting swordsman.

                “Yay!” Peri exclaimed, grabbing the ball and throwing it at the other before either man could stop her. It was severely interrupted as a flash of something broke the ball just before it made contact with the prince.

                “Over my dead body.” Appeared the ninja, Saizo and his partner, Kagerou shortly after.

                “Very good, Saizo, Kagerou.” Ryouma praised, stepping forward to stand in-between his retainers. “I was just about to call you.”

                “We are never far, milord.” Kagerou murmured, in a readied stance above a particularly large pile of snow.

                “That doesn’t seem quite fair, now does it?” Said a familiar voice. Ryouma watched as his retainer’s twin, Kaze, appeared beside Xander. “Two ninjas against cavalry? You’ll lose faster then you can blink.” He noted to the slightly surprised prince. “Allow me to assist you.”

                “This isn’t your fight, brother.” Saizo muttered, standing up a tad straighter as he addressed his younger sibling.

                “It’s just a game, Saizo.” Kagerou and Kaze said at the same time.

                “Looks like you’ll need some help.” Ryouma turned around as the fire tribe’s princess, Rinkah slowly walked up behind him, the snow beneath her sizzling as it melted. “Count me in.”

                “Us too!” Came a giggling voice, both parties turning to see Elise and Sakura hurryingly trudging through the snow to join them.

                “Looks like we have a fight.” Ryouma stated, cocking an eyebrow at the suddenly serious prince.

                “Indeed. Let the games begin.” Xander said, reaching down and throwing the first snow ball into the air.

                The game went on for what seemed like forever. More and more people from either army joined as they witnessed the fights, some even mixing it up and joining the ‘enemy’s party instead of their home team. At first many were hesitant at even throwing at either royal family member but that was quickly dismissed after Elise kept insistently throwing at Ryouma, finally getting hit by an irritated Saizo, square in the face. Suddenly both Ryouma and Xander were being buried with dozens of snow balls, their laughter mixing into the frigid air as everyone around them shouted through the ‘battle’. He watched as Laslow attempted to protect said lord only to get absolutely pummelled under a surprising amount of snow by the still frustrated ninja. Peri fought hard, with that same killer grin of hers—Rinkah seemed to be her best opponent, seeing as the princess melted almost every ball thrown at her. Ryouma even swore he saw Takumi and Prince Leo join, the two working together amazingly enough to try and take down their sisters. It quickly was becoming something similar to chaos and Ryouma pretty much had to crawl his way over to the side for a much needed break from the onslaught of snow. From there, he watched, smiling.

                Never would he have dreamed of witnessing such joy, such peace between two enemy armies. In the deep realm, they were all neutral. Here, they were all soldiers, trying to survive each day. Together, they laughed and cried and fought like mad dogs just to see the end of each battle; seeing this, such innocent gameplay between all soldiers almost made Ryouma emotional. For so long, he dreamt of peace. To feel the pleasure of being a child again, to play without consequences. He wasn’t getting any younger—yet neither were they.

                He jumped slightly as a ball was pressed up against his face only to laugh as he heard Xander’s playful growl from behind him.

                “I yield!” He shouted, pressing his back up against the other to try and deter him away. Xander gradually pulled away, moving instead to sit next to the prince with a slight pant.

                “I don’t think we could stop them if we tried.” Xander noted, grinning as he nodded towards the still ongoing battle. “Not that I would want to, in fact.”

                “This war will only get worse.” Ryouma sighed, running his hand back through his dampened hair. “Any chance of peace we can get in the mean time is precious.”

                “I wholeheartedly agree, Prince Ryouma.” Xander replied, turning his head to smile at the samurai.

                “Call me Ryouma.” The swordsman said surprisingly. “Gods know we’re close enough to forbid titles.”

                “Ryouma.” Xander tried the name, a curious look occurring as his face as he repeated. “Ry _ou_ maaa.”

                “It’s not that strange, _Xander_.” The man laughed, knocking his shoulder to the blondes. “We march out tomorrow. I know that everyone was anxious—we’re venturing into unknown territory; anything could happen. I’m happy they all at least got to experience this.”

                “We are prepared.”

                “Are we?”

                “Do you not think so?” Xander questioned.

                “Corrin has amazingly planned out our future battles with knowing very close to no knowledge of this supposed ancient land.” Ryouma started, gaze returning to the still ongoing fight. “We have amazing support, well trained soldiers, dutiful healers and even tacticians within our own families.” Ryouma said, referring to Takumi and Leo. “But anything could happen. We’ve already seen so much death from this war. It can only continue.” Xander didn’t reply for a long time, the two princes silently watching as finally the snowball fight dwindled down to groups of their combined soldiers standing and sitting about, out of breath and full of adrenaline.

                “Though what you say has a degree of truth to it, Prin—…Ryouma, I’m willing to admit I have some confidence in our plans.”

                “May I ask why?” Ryouma inquired, frowning out of habit.

                “Because we have you.” Xander simply stated, still watching the others begin to disperse for the night. “Because we have you and the Hoshidian army, the royal family. Because we have my family, and Nohrian soldiers that were not afraid to do what was right even if it meant it was going to be difficult. We’re all here, for the first time in a very long, long time, in peace. We’re here because we believe in that peace, believe in the person who embodies it—Corrin. Perhaps Azura as well. We all knew this was going to be far too dangerous, even before Corrin finally told us about Valla.”

                “You’re that confident in our success?” Ryouma asked, in slight disbelief.

                “Not at all.” Xander smiled wearily. “But I know that we all won’t go down without a fight.” Just then a body threw itself onto both of their backs and the two princes buckled under the sudden weight.

                “Xander! Ryouma!” Corrin cried, a look of total emergency on his face.

                “What’s wrong?!” Ryouma questioned, concern making his previous conversation a thing of the past.

                “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, little prince!”

                “I heard you two started a snowball fight!” Corrin rolled off his brothers and huffed at them before. “I didn’t believe Jakob at first but this mess…” The sudden worriment on Corrin’s face began to annoy both Ryouma and Xander. “Are you two feeling alright?”

                “Is it truly that shocking that Ryouma and I would have a bit of fun every once and a while?” Ryouma heard Xander mumble, sitting back up with a deep frown on his lips. He glanced back at the dragon just in time to see him throw up his hands in exasperation.

                “Yes! Camilla and Hinoka were also worried, saying they saw you two going at it!” Ryouma laughed heartedly and finally stood up, helping both Xander and Corrin up from off the snow.

                “You needn’t worry, Corrin.” He started, brushing off some snow from the younger prince. “We were just having fun, living in the moment.”

                “Are you sure? You haven’t gone mad, have you?” Corrin continued, still frowning anxiously at the two.

                “Perhaps we have.” Xander joked, Ryouma smirking at him and shaking his head disapprovingly.

                “Not that that means we’re not fit to fight tomorrow, Corrin.” He sighed, gently pushing the other in the direction of the sleeping tents. “Something about your brother simply brings a more…peaceful side to myself.”

* * *

 

                “I don’t think I’m doing this correctly.”

                “Patience, darling!” Camilla tried, straightening her back a tad more, as if that would help their current situation. She felt a slightly painful tug at her head as Hinoka continued to attempt a braid with her quickly drying hair but chose not to say anything.

                “No, by the looks of it I’m definitely not doing this right.” Hinoka sighed, clearly getting frustrated with herself. Camilla smiled softly, her eyes closed as she focused her attention on the fumbling fingers pulling her hair into a messy knot.

                “I’m sure it looks beautiful.” She reassured, relaxing her shoulders when she felt Hinoka pause near the end of her long, lavender hair and tie it into a ribbon.

                “There.” Hinoka huffed, sitting back on their bed and crossing her arms, that same adorable blush appearing on her face when the dark princess turned to look at her, eyes opening to that lovely sight. “Try not to laugh too hard.” Humming, Camilla stood up and walked over to her small vanity and peered down to see her reflection. The braid itself was obviously unpracticed—stray hair was everywhere, the ribbon so low that she knew it would fall out in her sleep and the braid far too loose that the light waves she was known for would be far less in the morning.

                “I was right.” Camilla cooed, twirling around to face the still embarrassed princess. “It’s beautiful.”

                “It’s a mess and you know it.” Hinoka muttered before allowing herself a moment to take in a breath and smile back. “Thanks though…for trying to make me feel better.”

                “I happen to be fond of beautiful messes.” Camilla noted, already untying the braid and unraveling it to start again. “But for your first time it was very good. I’m still quite surprised that you never learned. Has your hair always been short?”

                “Not always, no.” Hinoka corrected, pulling at her nails as she watched intently as Camilla expertly braided her long locks. “I had very long hair when I was younger. I also had no need to braid it so it was usually tied up by servants or my mother.”

                “Why did you cut it short then?”

                “Because of Corrin.” Hinoka admitted, waiting to see a reaction from the other princess—when she didn’t receive one, she continued. “When Corrin was taken from us and our father died I was so angry. I remember I wanted to storm into Nohr by myself and take out whoever had committed such crimes.”

                “You were obviously very young when it happened.” Camilla interjected quietly, her hands falling to her lap now that her hair was finished.

                “Too young. I fought tooth and nail against Ryouma and our mother, Mikoto, to try and get there. I ran away a large number of times but was always found, despite my ‘clever’ planning.” Hinoka laughed absentmindedly, her thoughts far away in her past. “I had no training what so ever, though. I was originally going to learn magic and the Yumi, like my mother and Sakura. But I knew if I wanted to save Corrin, I couldn’t do it from afar, nor on foot for that matter.”

                “So you decided to become a Sky knight.”

                “Exactly.”

                “What of your hair then?” Camilla wondered, tilting her head at the story.

                “In Hoshido, cutting your hair suddenly usually meant banishment or rejection from home. But for me, it was forgetting the past—my past of weakness and inability to protect my family. I wanted to get stronger and I wanted to prove my seriousness to the choice. So, one night, I sliced off my hair.” Camilla was amazed with such a concept—in Nohr, it wasn’t unheard of for women to cut their hair short but many kept it long mainly for appearances at important events. To have such a significant outcome from such a simple choice was remarkable.

                “Thank you for telling me.” She said, reaching over to squeeze the red head’s hand briefly. “I feel like I understand you better with this.” Hinoka smiled shyly at her, her free hand moving to tuck her short ends behind her ear.

                “I’ve been meaning to ask you—“ The sky knight mumbled, gaining Camilla’s undivided attention once more. “How did you react when Azura was taken from Nohr?” Feeling her lips purse at the memory, Camilla pulled away to instead sit next to the other woman, her bare shoulder pressed up against hers.

                “...Azura was a step sibling of ours after father married her mother.” Camilla sighed, remembering their first introduction to each other. “She was very shy and clung to her mother whenever she could. My mother, a concubine trying to get closer to the Nohrian royalty for completely selfish reasons, quickly told me afterwards to stay away from Azura, in fear that my association with the young child would somehow lessen her chances of being father’s only love.

                “Xander and Leo were told this as well. It pained us dearly, but we were obedient children and followed the rules placed before us. From afar, I watched Azura take on so many hardships and my heart broke many times from seeing her run off, tears falling from her sweet eyes. She wasn’t with us long before she was taken but I still remember every encounter I had with her. I fear that our past has made it difficult to truly reconnect with her now that we’re fighting together. I will always regret not taking better care of her when she was still apart of my family.”

                “I had no idea…” Hinoka murmured, her thumb brushing over Camilla’s hand, much to her surprise—she could have sworn she had released the other long before the story.

                “I am happy though.” Camilla reassured, keeping her eyes locked to their connected hands as she confessed. “Seeing my beloved Corrin and Azura, working so hard for peace, becoming so strong and remarkable—that’s all I ever wanted.” Things were silent between the two before Hinoka hesitantly, ever so gently, placed her head on Camilla’s shoulder.

                “Despite your appearance, you’re a very kind and loving woman, Camilla.”

                “Oh? What appearance do I give?” Camilla laughed, squeezing Hinoka’s shy hand.

                “D-Do I really have to say it?”

                “You started it, love.” Hinoka sighed at that, much to the dark princess’ amusement.

                “A very intimidating, powerful and…a-and frightening beautiful appearance.”

                “Hm…” Camilla took in the words, her heart soaring at the simple phrases. “You yourself are very strong, very determined.” With a nuzzle of her head, she heard the sky knight laugh tiredly. “With such a pretty face.”

* * *

 

                “What about Benny?” Elise asked, kicking her feet up in the air as they laid in bed, looking over books that they were definitely not concentrating on reading.

                “I-Isn’t he too scary?” Sakura retorted, a frown pulling down her small lips.

                “Nooooo! He’s like a big teddy bear! A really, really tall teddy bear, but a cute one either way!”

                “Maybe then…”

                “Your turn to ask me!” Elise giggled, her arms across her book as she laid her head down, face turned to smile at the tired and shy princess.

                “U-Um…What about Subaki?”

                “Your retainer?” Elise laughed harder, the idea of Sakura setting up the personal guard with her far too funny of an idea. “He’s pretty! I really like his hair, too! Buuuut I think Camilla’s retainer, Selena and him have something together.”

                “You noticed that too?” Sakura joined in with the giggles, hiding her mouth behind a hand. “A-Alright, your turn.”

                “Ummmmmmm…Speaking of retainers, what about Effie?”

                “A woman?” Sakura squeaked, a blush noticeable even with their low lighting within their living space.

                “Why not?” Elise shrugged, turning her head back to her book as she cupped her cheek. “Effie is really strong! And super loyal, as well! Not to mention she’s really, really pretty!”

                “Oh…” Sakura gulped, her too looking back to the book of Nohrian culture she had beneath her. “I suppose…I just never considered women as an option before.”

                “Oh, yeah!” Elise grinned, the smile so big her eyes crinkled from doing so. "Girls are so beautiful! Like that girl, Charlotte! Oh, and big sister Camilla! And Azura!”

                “Could a woman be with another woman?” Sakura asked, genuinely curious at this point. “I-I know that you can be really close but…You’re talking about in terms of courting, r-right?”

                “I mean…” Elise turned thoughtful, rolling back to her side, her book now completely forgotten at this point. This was serious business! There were pretty women to talk about! “I don’t see how that can be any different than a man loving a woman…At the end of the day, it’s just love, no? Sure, some things are kind of different between them but if the two really like each other, why not let them be together?”

                “What about children?”

                “There’s tons of kids in the orphanage!” Elise explained. “Or at least there are in Nohr. I don’t know what its like in Hoshido…”

                “Hmm…” Sakura thought, turning quiet as Elise watched her. Growing up, the blonde was never really forced to choose between men or women as her affection of choice. Sure, Xander once joked (poorly, at that) of arranging a marriage for Elise so she could ensure a noble family line but after a long, loud tantrum he quickly took back his word. Her sister, Camilla, was a good example on how easy it was to love both sexes, Elise concluded. Though Elise was sure she didn’t have any person of interest at the moment, she stood by her beliefs.

                “That’s really interesting.” Sakura finally said, smiling awkwardly at the other. “Is it common in Nohr?”

                “Not that I know of, no.” Elise sighed, rolling onto her back. “Maybe it is. I like to think it could be—everyone equally loving everyone, no stupid arrange marriages…Just love.” Relaxing as she saw from the corner of her eye the pink princess settle down close to her once again, Elise continued. “By the way, you didn’t answer my question! What about Effie?” Sakura giggled, glad the conversation went back to their small and joyful talk.

                “Hmm, I think so. Okay…What about Orochi?”

\--

                As Corrin walked back to his tent, finally after a long night of checking supplies and talking to troops with many questions, he watched as snow began to drift once more down to them. It had been a very peaceful day; far more peaceful than Corrin had seen since before this war even started. It gave him hope. Hope he desperately needed.

                Because little did he know that tomorrow, his whole world would be flipped upside down once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> supppppppper gay chapter because gods know that the next chapter is going to be long and angsty (if you've played revelations already, you may have a hint as to what I'm talking about)
> 
> FUN STORY TIME BTW  
> the reason this chapter was so late despite writing a good 4000+ words days ago (my final count was 6500+) was because I've been feeling really low lately. I have diagnosed depression and it has been really troublesome these days. Writing helps tho  
> also I discovered rats in my ceiling (i live in a basement suite) and I freaked the fuck out over that so yay.  
> (the rats are still here too)  
> (they're my new roommates 8) ) 
> 
> Thank you for reading and being so patient! <3 comments help fuel this fire so please leave a little thought <3  
> -ringo


	5. The fall-- Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have not played revelations yet, I have a few things to say  
> 1) why the heckity heck are you reading this?  
> 2) aka this chapter and the next have a heeeeeeeeeeeeeck ton of spoilers for revelations in it. and not nice ones. bad ones 8( if you've already played this route or don't mind spoilers, enjoy! if not, pls come back later and read it after you've finished the game. it's only fair.
> 
> also, this chapter and the next use a lot of dialogue from the actual game so I might as well say it here-- i do not and will not ever own fire emblem fates and its characters. I'm just a lousy guy who likes to write fanfiction
> 
> (this chapter was so long, I'm splitting it up into two parts 8)))))))) )  
> enjoy!!

 

                Corrin knew everyone was feeling wary after the betrayal of Anthony, the small village child they saved a while back when they first appeared in Valla. The problem was, despite working together for so long, many still felt that suspicion between each other. After a small set back from being intercepted by the same mage and discovering she was actually the same resemblance of that of Azura’s mother, Ryouma pulled Corrin aside to walk with him as they waited for the second group to join them.

                “Ryouma? Is something the matter? You look lost in thought.” Corrin asked hesitantly, resting against a rock as he massaged his shoulder, feeling a bit sore from their last two fights.

                “Ah, Corrin…I was just thinking about Scarlet.” Ryouma confessed, glancing over to his brother with a sad sort of smile on his face. “If she was still alive and with us, I’m sure she’d do something to dispel this mood.” Corrin nodded, the memory of the Wyvern rider making his heart ache. Regardless of the small amount of time he spent with her in the Astral Plane, they talked many times over that short break and he had even grown somewhat attach to her before they ventured out; the dragon of a prince could easily understand why Ryouma had grown close to her during the months he spent fighting with her. She had been a very vibrant, determined woman and her sacrifice still hung heavy over his thoughts.

                “Yeah…I think you’re right.”

                “Though,” Ryouma started, his hands fidgeting on Raijinto as he talked. “there’s something bothering me about Scarlet’s death. I’ve been trying to find the right time to bring it up…”

                “What is it?” Corrin sat up a bit taller, curious that his brother was finally opening up over her death now of all times.

                “I need to know who killed her.” Ryouma said, his face growing dark as he confessed his thoughts.

                “Ah, so you’re curious about that as well, Prince Ryouma.” Gunter interrupted, appearing seemingly out of nowhere beside Corrin, the old retainer’s voice tight as he spoke.

                “Indeed.”

                “What do you mean? Wasn’t it a random Vallite soldier that killed her?” The prince frowned, crossing his arms at the two as he grew more and more confused.

                “Not a random soldier, Corrin.” Ryouma corrected. “A spy. Scarlet’s killer…” He watched as his warrior of a brother hesitated, his grip on his sword tightening. “…is most likely one of us.”

                “That can’t be!”

                “Think about it.” The samurai sighed. “We were the only ones who jumped off that bridge.”

                “And you said yourself that you and Scarlet were attacked as you were falling, milord.” Gunter sighed as well, addressing his lord.

                “Ah…I see what you mean…” Corrin didn’t want to agree entirely as he still wanted to believe in everyone in his army. The betrayal from Anthony was truly disappointing but he wanted to believe that those closest to him and that of the dividing royal family wouldn’t turncoats in the end.

                “For you to be ambushed a you fell…The killer must have jumped with our group.” Ryouma concluded. “You’ve wanted us to trust each other, so I didn’t want to say anything…At least, not until I was certain.”

                “I appreciate that, Ryouma.” Corrin murmured, his gaze lowered as this dark theory continued to run through his mind as he tried to get a hold of it.  

                “However, it’s possible that we’ll encounter even stronger resistance from here on in. We may even reach Anankos soon.”

                “It would be tragic if someone were to betray us during our final battle.” Gunter said, standing back a bit as Corrin finally stood up from his resting place.

                “But we have no idea who the traitor could be. So what can we do?” The prince muttered in return, starting to grow frustrated from all these conflicting thoughts of his.

                “I’m sorry, Corrin. I don’t have an answer right now. Don’t lose faith in those who have pledged to follow you.” The elder prince smiled, removing one of his hands to press it to the smaller male’s shoulder. “Just…Keep this conversation in mind.” When he glanced back up, he was sad to see Ryouma looking at him with that same dark expression of his. His shoulders felled, and he nodded reluctantly.

                “All right. Thank you for bringing this to me, Ryouma.” As he thanked him, Xander called out from a distance, his horse slowing down as they approached the first group that Ryouma and Corrin led. “Let’s continue on, shall we?” He suggested with a short look before taking off to join his Nohrian brother.

                “How are you, little prince?” Xander asked, lifting himself off his ride to address his brother. Corrin smiled and replied.

                “Fine. We scouted ahead and found a good path to the castle. We should be there before nightfall.”

                “Excellent. How is Azura?” Xander’s face fell to concern.

                “She’ll be fine.” Corrin mumbled, rubbing his neck as he glanced over to where Azura was sitting, Sakura by her side as they quietly talked. “She insists that she felt no connection to Arete and says we needn’t worry over her. But still…”

                “Azura is strong.” He heard Ryouma say behind him, the samurai walking up to them with a confident look in his eyes. “All my time knowing her, she has been formidably strong—emotionally speaking. If she needs to talk, she’ll come to us.” Xander nodded, glancing once more to the songstress before turning his gaze back to the two.

                “Alright. We encountered some stray Vallite soldiers on the way here—Prince Takumi thinks it was a scout, following us but there were far too many for it to be a simple scouting mission.”                

                “Thank you, big brother.” Corrin nodded back, adjusting his armour as he began forward. “We’ll merge our groups for now. If we need to, we can split up once we’re inside, just to cover more ground. But for now, I have a good hunch we’re going to have a little welcome party by the time we’re close enough to the castle.”

                “Good thinking.” Ryouma agreed, catching up to Corrin as Xander quickly returned to his mount.

                “Let’s move out!”

* * *

 

                Xander, Ryouma, Azura and Corrin led the main group, their sibling’s not too far behind alongside the retainers and then their soldiers. The castle was visible off in the distance but yet again they were intercepted by Arete, Azura’s mother.

                “You must leave this place at once.” She shouted, a good distance between the four royals. “I will not allow you to approach the castle.” Corrin pulled out the Yato however made no move to attack. As he glanced over at Azura, he could see she too had pulled out her lance, readied to move if needed. “Leave, or I will destroy you.”

                “Arete!” Corrin finally replied, his arm raised at her.

                “We won’t leave. You must let us pass.” Azura demanded calmly, stepping forward to stand beside the prince.

                “Another fight, then?” Arete smirked, a hand coming to her mouth as she carefully watched the group. “I knew you wouldn’t listen to reason. That’s why I brought a friend of yours.”

                “What are you talking about?” Corrin muttered, tightening his grip on Yato as he grew nervous.

                “Not to worry—“ Arete laughed. “If you live long enough, you’ll understand.” With that, the mage transported herself away, further along the path of broken up land. The man only had to quickly look at the songstress to see her nod of approval before he lifted his Yato above him for the rest of the army to see.

                “Here we go, everyone!”

                His siblings were by his side in an instant, awaiting his instructions. He split them up amongst each other, choosing to stick close to Azura for the time being. Carefully dividing mages with Calvary, ninjas with generals as well as those able to wield a staff, Corrin finally ran off to engage their enemy.

                There was a lot of them. The slacks of broken ground moved through the air, randomly dispersing them to different chunks of land. With a swear under his breath, Corrin pushed forward, slicing through one of the apparitions with his sword, Azura supporting him as another attempted to flank them. He could see Takumi and Hinoka flying above, blue arrows shooting off to the enemy below as the red head expertly maneuvered them out of the way of other fliers.  Ryouma guarded Sakura, the young priestess surprisingly calm as she stepped out of the way of one Vallite swordsman, Ryouma quickly striking him down with a cry. As a Vallite sky night charged at them, Sakura carefully pulled out her yumi and shot them down.

                Then, he saw her. Her armor, still burnt from the previous blow so many weeks ago. Her face, obviously scarred and her eyes dark as she stared at him from afar. She was riding a wyvern. Her hand, clutching onto a killer axe.

                Scarlet.

                Corrin suddenly cried out as a lance pierced through his shoulder, the faux weapon still injuring him despite it vaporizing in the air after Azura retaliated.

                “Corrin!” She cried, rushing over to him as he fell to the ground, his hand covering his now bleeding arm.

                “Azura!” He gasped, still watching the reincarnated rider. “It’s her! It’s Scarlet!” Azura’s eyebrows furrowed together in disbelief but sure enough as she glanced up, she recognized the wyvern rider as well.

                “Oh no…”

                Corrin, frantically trying to stumble his way back up, realized Ryouma had taken notice as well. He watched, in horror, as the samurai lowered his weapon and gaped at his former companion. The blonde noticed him and suddenly she was charging at the other.

                “Ryouma!” Corrin screamed, desperately pulling himself up via his sword. Sakura shouted something and, quickly realizing Ryouma was still in shock, pushed her brother out of the way, nearly missing the swung of Scarlet’s axe.

                “Corrin, you have to calm down.” Azura whispered, her thin arm circling around his waist to help him up. He ignored her, watching in fear as Sakura crawled onto the still moving rock, crying as she pulled her brother with her just in time. The too slow movement frightened Corrin as Ryouma continued to stare up at Scarlet, his eyes wide and fixated on her as Sakura desperately defended him, her yumi shooting off many times, missing the wyvern every time. They were headed their way.

                “Sakura!” Corrin cried out, pushing gently away from Azura and rushing over to the edge, a bloodied hand reaching out for the young girl. “Hurry!” Sakura looked up from her bow, tears in her frightened eyes continuing as she noticed his injury. As they drew closer, she called for Ryouma and helped pull him up before she made the enclosing jump to her brother. The prince caught her and fell with her to the ground, gaze still on Scarlet as she circled around them, readying for another attack.

                “Brother, you’re hurt!” Sakura sobbed, shaking hands reaching for one of her rods.

                “Look out!” Azura shouted, allowing them enough time to dodge another attack.

                “Ryouma!” Corrin tried again, the man in question awkwardly standing up, Raijinto in his hold once more.

                “That’s not her…” He heard the Burnette mutter, slowly raising his sword at her, the electric bolts sizzling around the ancient weapon increasing in size through the swordsman anger. “Scarlet’s gone…That’s not her!” With a hurried swing and a loud cry from Ryouma, the wyvern was finally cut down.

                But Scarlet remained unharmed. She stood up from her fall, the familiar smoke emitting from their enemies encasing her ‘body’. Corrin hurried back up, even through the painful heat of healing magic Sakura was attempting to cast on him and he stood next to his brother as Scarlet glared at them, her axe raised.

                “…”

                “This presence...it feels so familiar. Is...is that you, Scarlet?” Ryouma’s voice sounded far too tired, keeping the distance between them equal as she tried to step forward by backing up as he spoke.

                “It... it can't be! Scarlet?!” Corrin said, his hand trembling as he raised Yato ready. “So you're who Arete was talking about when she mentioned a friend of ours...This is beyond cruel. I’m so sorry.”

                “No it can't be... This may be Scarlet's form, but the woman herself is long gone. Even knowing that, I...” Corrin felt his brother bump into him, something seemingly unheard of from the overly trained swordsman. “I can’t…”

                “I know that, in this state, you'd want me to defeat you.” Corrin tried to get control of his now trembling voice, Azura and Sakura behind him as they watched, the young priestess’ sniffles heard.  Even if this wasn’t the same girl he had quickly become friends with seemingly so long ago, he had to convince himself that she was gone and this in front of him was just a toy, a puppet made by the enemy to play with their emotions. “I won't let them use you to take my life - not after you gave yours to save it.”

                “Forgive me, Scarlet…” He heard Ryouma whisper, the rest of the sentence lost as Ryouma charged forward. With a cry, Corrin followed, quickly dodging a hand axe aimed for his head. His brother went for a strike but Scarlet was prepared, lifting up her main axe and blocking it. Seeing the opportunity, Corrin jumped, kicking her down just in time for Ryouma to maneuver the axe away from her hand, the weapon flying up into the air and into the seemingly bottomless ground below. Now unarmed, it took only two strikes for her to finally be cut down—Both from Corrin and Ryouma.

                She fell to her knees, the same smoke intensifying as she continued to fall. He watched silently as Ryouma reached out just in time, catching her head as she began to disappear.

                “Thank...” She choked out, smiling at the samurai. “Thank you...”

                When she finally vanished, Corrin noticed tears falling from the elder man’s face and into his empty arms below.

                “We must continue on.”

* * *

 

                It was hard to move forward. That much was obvious. Corrin forced himself to push on after he helped Ryouma back up. They couldn’t afford to be wasting time mourning their lost friend again—they just couldn’t. Azura was quickly back at his side and together they led the other two back into the heat of things, his other sibling’s fighting fiercely to clear a path for them straight to Arete.

                He knew these soldiers weren’t real. They were apparitions, puppets by Anankos used for manipulation and their kingdoms destruction. That still didn’t negate the fact that seeing them ‘die’, seeing so many of them being struck down over and over again didn’t affect Corrin deep into his core. What a terrible fate they had.

                They were nearing Arete. She had a strong number of soldiers protecting her—Azura ran off ahead of him, leading for a change and begun to strike down as many as she could. Corrin supported as best as he could, blocking a spear that had been aimed for the princess. Leo and Xander were not far off, the combination of Siegfried and Brynhildr a deadly advantage, the two ancient weapons making quick work of the more defensive units. Now alone, Arete smiled coldly down at Azura, her eyebrow visibly twitching the longer she stared.

                “Why is it that looking at you gives me such an incredible headache?” She muttered, readying her tome for her attack. Corrin could see Azura lower her killer lance, just the slightest bit.

                “I…” He barely heard her whisper to herself. “Could it be…?”

                “No matter—“ Arete scoffed, rising the book as he gaze turned dark. “killing you will make the pain go away. Prepare yourself for the next world.” Azura took a moment, Corrin closing in beside her, his sword readied just in case she couldn’t do it. With a deep breath, she spoke.

                “After our last encounter, I readied myself for this moment. I knew that, if we met again, I might have to be the one to take you down.” Her words were strong, her eyes hard as she raised her lance once more. Within a second, she was off, whirling the weapon around her small waist, her hair being pulled back from the momentum as she took out Arete’s horse. Arete had just enough time to cast a spell, one that both Azura and Corrin luckily missed. Corrin attempted to strike the book out of her hand but she saw him coming, scrambling up and missing his attack. But the distraction proved useful as the songstress spun around her.

                “It’s over.” She said softly, the force of her lance striking Arete down her back. The mage cried out in pain, her voice echoing the quickly emptying battle field. She fell to the ground, Corrin and Azura stepping back as she began to die. Lying there, her body become clearer to see as she called out for her child.

                “Azura…” Said princess in question looked up, her face growing confused as she looked down at the dying mage.

                “Did she…Just say me name?” She asked, her voice unexpectedly far too small.

                “Come closer, Azura…” Arete begged, her face pained as she held out a hand to the girl. As the songstress hesitated, Corrin turned around to see the rest of their siblings gather around, all the more confused.

                “M-Mother?” She started taking short steps towards Arete, her lance falling from her side. “It can’t be. You remember who I am?”

                “Soon…” Arete ignored, her trembling hand gradually meeting the grass beneath as she weakened. “Soon…my body and soul will disappear….” She took a staggering breath before coughing, a gurgling of liquid choking her speech in a way that made Corrin wince. “I’ll be…Forever released from…Anankos’s control...” The mage began to cry, soft looking tears falling from her turned face, washing away the dirt there and leaving streaks. “Ah, my sweet Azura…” She whimpered, a smile on her face. “I finally…remember you…”

                “Can it be true?” Azura questioned, her hands clutching her chest as her whole form trembled. “Is that really you, Mother?” Her pace quickened, Ryouma rushing to her in haste.

                “Azura, wait! This could be another trap!”

                “But…” Azura glanced back, Corrin shocked to see such sad eyes looking through their families faces. “It might not be. What do I do?”

                “Azura.” Corrin finally spoke, fighting back tears as the mage continued to struggle to breathe. “You know.”

                “Corrin…” She gasped gently, swallowing down a lump. “You’re right…Of course.” She continued on forward, her strides a bit more confident as she returned her saddened gaze to that of her mother. “I will trust that this is my mother—that she is telling the truth!” With that, they all watched Azura knell down beside the mage and gently coax her onto her lap, Arete’s head resting there as she looked up properly at the songstress.

                “Mother…” Azura cooed, smiling sadly.

                “Azura…” Arete called back, her smile just as genuine as she reached out once more, Azura quickly finding her hand and holding it. “You’ve grown so much.” She laughed, humorlessly, the noise broken up by something else.

                “At last you remembered me.” The daughter grinned, squeezing Arete’s hand. “I’ve missed you so much…”

                “I’m sorry for leaving you. You’ve been suffering alone for so long…” The woman apologized, her smile falling into a regretful frown.

                “No. I was never alone.” Azura shook her head, still smiling as she held back her tears. “I’ve had the royal children from Nohr and Hoshido by my side. And others have joined to help me, too.”

                “That’s wonderful…” Arete replied, twisting her head somewhat to glance at the watching group behind her daughter. “I wish I had more time…I can feel myself slipping away…” Her body was engulfed by familiar blue droplets of water, Azura losing grip of the quickly dispersing body.

                “Mother!” Azura cried, her smile vanishing just like her mother, her hands reaching out desperately to try and grab onto those small pools of brilliant water. “You can’t! I just got you back. Don’t go!”

                “Azura…” Corrin could hear Arete’s voice call, her body nowhere to be seen as she fell upwards towards the sky. “I’m so proud of you. Thank you for being my little girl...I’m glad I saw you one last time. I love you so much, Azura.”

                “Mother? Mother!” Amazingly, Azura kept her tears in. Her body became weak, however, and she felt her hands hit the dirt below before she could really control it. She visibly trembled, her breath somewhat ragged.

                “I’m so sorry, Azura…” Ryouma spoke up, his voice full of understanding, only reminding Corrin of what had happened to him similarly only an hour ago. Beside the Hoshidian prince stood Xander, who kept silent, his face full of remorse.

                “I won’t forgive him.” Corrin muttered finally. “Anankos will pay for doing this.” Silently, Azura stood up. Corrin walked forward to meet her, but was surprised when she walked past him.

                “We’re close to the castle’s entrance. We mustn’t waste anymore time.” She stated smoothly, reaching down and gathering up her lance once more. The prince frowned however followed her instructions. Walking after her, he could see his sibling’s different reactions, as if some of them wanted to call her out—but they knew, at the same time, Azura wouldn’t be so quick to show her tears. Not when so much was at stake. Not when they were so close to the end.

                As they trudged on to the entrance, Corrin caught a quick glimpse of Laslow gradually reaching Azura’s side. From there, the dancer took her hand and together, they walked on.

                

* * *

 

                The majority of the journey into the castle itself was silent, spare the quiet murmurs from their healers as they worked on the go, accessing and healing as many injuries at they could. Those with mounts carefully walked at the edges of the group, not wanting to disrupt them or make too much noise from marching. Inside the castle, Corrin felt an uneasy chill wash through his entire body. He tried to put it off as himself being paranoid or perhaps too tired from their constant battles. It turns out, he wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

                “Azura, we’ll find Anankos if we continue going this way…right?” The dragon finally called out, hesitant to continue moving forward the deeper they came into the chambers—it was getting increasingly more difficult to see, let alone breathe comfortably.

                “Yes, we should.” Azura stated bluntly, stopping as well, Laslow letting go of her hand as she turned to face the prince. “But…I have a bad feeling about what is waiting for us up ahead.” She confessed, both hands moving to her lance worriedly.

                “I agree.” Xander said, dismounting momentarily to address the two. “This area has a decidedly ominous atmosphere.”

                “Regardless of the obstacle we face, we have to fight on.” Ryouma interrupted plainly, his eyes focused elsewhere. “We must reach Anankos and defeat him.” Seeing as there wasn’t much else to say, Corrin nodded tiredly and began forward once more, moving further ahead of the group.

                “Stay alert, everyone.” He warned. “Let’s go!” The farther he walked, the darker it became before, quite abruptly, what little light that lead the way in was blown out. “What that--?!” Corrin exclaimed, unsheathing Yato once more. “The light went out! What’s going on?” When no one answered him, Corrin groaned in frustration, trudging on, hoping against hope he could find at least a wall to feel against. “What kind of trap is this? Hello? Hey, is anyone there?” He continued to call out, his voice increasing in volume the more the silence taunted him back. A couple minutes later, he saw light finally peering through an entrance. Rushing forward, Corrin blinked at the sudden light and looked around, desperate to find one of his companions. “What the…?”

                In a brilliant showcase of water and smoke, a body emerged in front of him. It took shape, clothes filling out and long, dark hair flowing through the air. A face appeared, though blurry at first, but with a wave of a long, extended hand, it became clearer. Corrin felt his heart froze, his breathing stop—Mikoto.

                The deceased Hoshidian queen sighed, as if she had been finally reborn. What little memories he had left of her appeared to be playing with him as she smiled far too lovingly and familiar at him. She cupped her hands together in front of her, a motion he had grown familiar with through the time he spent captured in Hoshido.

                “It’s wonderful to see you again.” She spoke, her voice a gentle tone, breaking up under the still flowing water around. “I could not be happier. Corrin…”

                “It can’t be…” He bit out, glaring at the apparition of his dead mother. “I saw you _die_!”

                “I’m so happy to see you again.” She repeated, seemingly ignoring his retort.

                “No!” Corrin yelled back, throwing his hand out at her. “I won’t be fooled! You’re not my mother—just another of Anankos’s tricks.”

                “Please, Corrin…You have to calm down. I’ve come to help you.” She took a step forward, a hand clutching her chest as she spoke frantically at him. “You have to trust me. I won’t cause you any harm.”

                “Stop it! Stop using my mother’s voice!” Corrin growled back, anger filling up his senses as her earnestly bit into his desperate and broken heart. “I…I want to believe in people…” He continued to mutter, walking up to her, glaring at her still trusting smile.  “In all people. But this…” Finally in front of her, the prince raised his sword and yelled. “I will not believe in a puppet of Anankos!” He made to swing at her, stopping just before her kind face when she didn’t even attempt to move out of the way. “…Why?” The man asked, voice breaking. “Why didn’t you move? Why didn’t you block my attack?”

                “Even if you don’t believe in me…” Mikoto started. “I still believe in you, my child.”

                “Are you truly my mother?” He whispered, mainly to himself.

                “I am.” She answered, smiling once more. “Even as a puppet of Anankos, my spirit at least remains me own.”

                “I…” Corrin took a moment, watching her carefully before he finally pulled back, lowering his sword once more. “I believe you.”

                “Thank you, Corrin. I’m glad.” The queen’s lips drew on a frown as Corrin watched her, still hesitantly. “My beloved child…I’m here to warn you. There is a maze ahead, filled with dangerous traps.”

                “What should I do?”

                “Listen closely.” Mikoto said quietly, taking a step forward. “The blue doors will be safe. You can avoid the traps by using those doors.” She disappeared, unlike that of the Vallite’s death—she merely became invisible, her voice still clear in his mind. _“Please don’t forget. I’m counting on you to defeat Anankos and free me.”_

                “Don’t worry, mother.” The prince mumbled, staring down at the ground where she had once stood. As he stared, he heard an increasingly loud noise, throwing his head up in surprise. “What’s that sound? Is that—“ Listening more closely, he ran off to seek out the voice. “That’s Azura’s singing!”

                Not far from where he had emerged from, he found Azura, standing in another room, her beautiful voice quieting down when she took notice of him.

                “Corrin! Thank goodness. Are you alright?”

                “Yes, I’m…” He glanced back for a second to the room he just left. “I’m fine.”

                “Is something wrong? You look so pale…”

                “It’s nothing, Azura. Don’t worry.” He smiled. “We need to stay focused and alert. This place is filled of traps. Be careful.”

                “Traps?” He heard a gruff voice call, turning to see Takumi and the others finally reach them. “What are you talking about brother?”

                “Please…” Corrin sighed, readying his sword once more. “Just trust me. We’ll need to go in smaller groups—I know there’s traps ahead but I don’t know how many enemies will be waiting for us.”

                “We trust you.” Hinoka smiled, nodding along as she placed a reassuring hand on the archer. “How many should go?”

                “Hm…” Corrin thought for a moment, glancing around the quickly growing group surrounding him. “If I scout ahead with a few others, I can disable the traps and ensure a safe path for everyone else.”

                “Are you sure about that?” Leo asked, tome in hand as he stood beside Elise. “That could either be ingenious or incredibly dangerous.”

                “Which is why I’m not going alone.” Corrin smiled over to his other brother. “Kaze, Jakob, Xander and I will go on ahead. If that’s alright with you all, of course.”

                “I will happily assist you, milord.” Kaze answered efficiently, cutting off an eager butler who casted off a quick sneer before smiling at his beloved lord.

                “You know I will follow you into very hell itself, Lord Corrin.” He said with a bow.

                “May I ask why myself?” Xander pointed out, head tilting slightly at the younger prince.

                “Just in case a trap is set off.” Corrin explained. “And we’re set upon by enemies—I’ll need someone fast enough to get to the others and warn them. I could simply ask Kaze or Jakob to go, but I think someone mounted will be easier.”                         

                “Very well.” Xander nodded. “Let’s hope your plan works.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm already at 11 pages so I needed to split it up. The second part should be up tomorrow! <3  
> -ringo


	6. The fall-- Part 2

                With an agreement between them all, Corrin and his selected others went out, following along the halls until they got to large, open room, leading to a few sets of doors. Sure enough, there was a single blue door, waiting.

                _“You’ve reached the maze, Corrin.”_ The prince jumped, shocked to hear his mother’s voice speaking so abruptly in his head. _“The doors here are all magically cursed. Opening the wrong door will trigger a dangerous spell, so choose wisely. The wrong choice will hurt everyone in the area.”_ He heard her warn. _“Remember, you want to open blue doors. It doesn’t seem like Vallite soldiers are aware of your presence yet. If you’re careful, you might be able to get through the maze without a fight…”_ Corrin smiled at that, feeling a sense of understanding and pride from his mother—of course, the benevolent queen that was a symbol of peace amongst all Hoshidian’s alike would want a peaceful end. That little comment only made his trust grow and with a nod to himself, he started forward, Kaze carefully by his side.

                There was one Vallite soldier near the entrance as they tried to go past him. Corrin feared briefly that Xander’s horse would make noise and expose their position nevertheless was quickly reassured when Xander cautiously steered the great beast through the halls with only a small amount of noise coming from its hooves. Jakob was naturally light on his feet and Kaze had already apparently vanished, his entirety silent as he moved through the shadows just ahead of their group. As they continued on, he feared for a moment, yet again, that their siblings left behind would attempt to slowly creep in after him, in hopes of support. As much as he would appreciate it, they needed to get through this alive—three battles in one day was hard enough, Corrin didn’t wish to put his comrades through anymore unnecessary fights if he could help it.

                As they caught sight of the doors, Corrin rushed up to it as quietly as he could, thankful when Kaze showed up beside him in no time, already with his tools out. He worked efficiently and soon had the blue door open.

                _“Good choice. Well done. Make your way to the next set of doors.”_ He heard Mikoto tell him, her gentle voice a welcomed thought as he noticed a bigger number of soldiers patrolling the area. He motioned for Kaze and Jakob to go first, and then Xander, his eyes trained on the unknowing Vallites as they moved. When his team had made it a safe enough distance, he hurried over to them, nodding in the directions of the doors once more. Hurrying as best as they could, Corrin felt a splice of fear shift through him when they almost ran into two soldiers leaving the area in front of the doors. Pressing up against the wall, they waited until they could no longer hear their footsteps. Kaze vanished beside him, only appearing new the blue door once again. Jakob, Xander and him quickly followed, reaching the master ninja just in time for the door to open.

                _“Excellent. That was the right door.”_ He sighed internally, thankful that things were going smoothly. _“Listen carefully, my child. The last door is different from the rest. This time, the red door is the safe choice.”_ Nodding outwardly to himself, perhaps even looking mad as he did so, he turned to Kaze and mouthed carefully, ‘red’. The ninja nodded and once more they made their way to the doors. Thankful it was almost over, when the green haired man opened the final door, Corirn screamed, out of shock and a mixture of intense pain as the trap triggered and injured them all.

                “Ah!! What just happened!?” He cried out, clutching his stomach as he tried not to buckle over in weakness. Glancing through door, his heart simultaneously dropped as he caught sight of a large number of Vallite soldiers, armed and waiting for them. The other door opened, revealing his mother again, this time armed, supposedly leading the charge against them.

                “Queen Mikoto?!” He heard Kaze exclaim, struggling just as much to stay upright.

                “She’s alive?!” Xander shouted, desperately trying to calm his now injured horse.

                “Heheheh... Thanks for falling into my trap!” She giggled, her smile now sickly sweet as she gestured towards them, ordering her troops at the same time. “Now we can all perish together.” With a snarl, Corrin turned hastily to Xander and shouted.

                “Go! Now! Warn the others!”

                “But—“ Xander started, fear deep in his usual stern eyes, his horse panicking as about a dozen different soldiers began their ambush.

                “Don’t worry about us! Go, now!” Corrin screamed, quickly turning over to Jakob, who was chugging down a vulnerary as quick as he could. “Jakob! Heal us, quickly! Fight with me! Until the others get here!”

                “Of course, Lord Corrin!” Jakob gasped in return, throwing the now empty bottle to the ground somewhere, some colour back in his cheeks as he reached for his staff and murmured something, a fast wash of healing magic falling over himself, Kaze and Corrin. Kaze, only needing a bit of help with his injuries, instantly started on the enemy, throwing his shuriken’s at two of them before jumping over them and pulling out his kodachi. Realizing Xander was still there, Corrin growled in frustration and ran over, smacking the horses behind and watching as it cried out, charging off.

                “Go!”

                Xander kept his gaze fearfully on his brother before reluctantly giving in, kicking the sides of his horse and charging forward as fast as he could. A bit of breath left Corrin then, the urge to give in and collapse so incredibly strong he was surprised when he was still able to block an oncoming blow from a sword. Jakob and Kaze were working beside each other, fighting terribly hard to keep as many enemies away from their lord—Corrin wouldn’t have it. With a charge and a cry, he sliced through one Vallite, though with great difficulty. They all seemed to be fixated on him and Corrin honestly feared he wouldn’t make it to see the others get there. As he faltered in his thinking and bravery, he was quite easily overwhelmed by multiple soldiers, all attacking him at once. He heard one of his retainers call for him, his mind growing hazy the more he was pummelled and slammed against, weapons cutting into his fragile flesh. He was giving up. He shouldn’t be giving up. He needed to fight. But at that moment, the darkness seemed so right…

                _“Corrin…”_

                Eyes opening wide at her voice, the same voice that had just betrayed him moments before, rage built up in him incredibly fast. With a roar, his Yato was dropped and forgotten, the dragonstone he kept with him at all times glowing as he transformed. Now considerably stronger and bigger than the soldiers still trying to flank him, Corrin bucked his head up, his horns catching a few of the apparitions and with a twist of the neck, threw them against the wall. His roar was deafening, something that he honestly feared himself but at that moment, he needed that anger. He needed those primal instincts to take over or else they wouldn’t survive.

                His sudden change in form seemed to catch the attention of more soldiers and with a new revived strength, Corrin charged at them. Jakob and Kaze jumped out of the way just in time, leaving Corrin left with more soldiers knocked over by his horns. The water droplets that appeared with every step left a trail in his wake as he moved from one soldier to the next, anger blinding him and helping him live. It was only when an familiar blue arrow flew past his head did he start to calm down. Xander appeared with Ryouma on his horse, the swordsman efficiently jumping off and bringing down an enemy with him. Takumi was off in the distance with Sakura, Setsuna and Niles, raining down arrows to the still growing number of Vallites. Hinoka and Camilla, back on their mounts, rammed through a great number of them, clearing a safe path for Elise and Sakura, Leo not far behind, to come to his injured and exhausted retainers, healing them to full health in a manner of minutes.

                “Corrin!” He heard Azura call, leaving Saizo’s side and rushing over to his dragon form. “Please, talk to me. Are you hurt?” She gazed up at him, so terribly worried and with that, Corrin felt his anger begin to dissipate.

                “…I’m fine.” He huffed, his voice distorted through his primal form. Taking a moment to breathe, water appeared once more, engulfing his large form as he transformed back into a human. As he returned to normal, he quickly lost balance and collapsed into the princess’ arms, the power needed to transform exhausting him to his very core.

                “You’re bleeding!” Azura exclaimed, nervous hands barely grazing over the many cuts he had over his body.

                “I’m fine!” Corrin pleaded, trying to push himself back up, in search of his sword. “Where is mother?!”

                “Corrin, please…” He heard her beg, ignoring her as he spotted his Yato under a pile of debris. Stumbling somewhat, he reached for the divine weapon and held it close to him.

                “Where is she?”

                “Corrin!” Ryouma called out, finally having had taken notice of his little brother. Rushing forward, he lowered his sword somewhat, a firm hand being placed on Corrin’s shoulder to help stable him. “You’re injured!”

                “Ryouma.” Corrin breathed out, still feeling dizzy from his rampage and injuries. “Ryouma, it’s Mother, she’s—“

                “What do you mean?” Ryouma spoke quietly, his voice lost with the fighting still continuing on in the background. Corrin lifted up a shaking hand and pointed to the priestess, slightly hidden amongst the crowd. He watched, yet again, as his brother’s eyes widened in disbelief.

                “It can’t be…”

                “Corrin, you need healing.” Azura kept urging, her own hand moving to his arm and squeezing gently. “You look like you’re going to collapse, please.” Before he could respond, another enemy charged at them. That same unbridled rage returned and Corrin wasted no time pushing the others away and meeting the enemy head on, cutting them down with his yato in hand.

                “I need to get to her. I’ll be fine.” He spoke to both of them. When neither replied, he took that as a sign to continue on. Charging forward, he was thankful when Jakob returned to his side, the butler easily keeping up now that he had been fully healed.

                “Milord, allow me.” He spoke, calm as ever. With a wave of his staff, a slight wash of magic fell over Corrin—he had to hold back a sigh of relief from the constant throb of pain slowly dissipating now.

                “Thank you.” The manakete murmured, dodging an arrow aimed at him as he continued. His mother seemingly was a monster—the closer he got, the more he could see how she was dodging almost every attack by their party. Only equipped with a yumi, Corrin was honestly surprised that she was able to hold her own so long without getting hurt. Others already had taken notice of her presence and were attempting to tire her out. The soldiers around her were so busy deflecting attacks that Corrin found it easy to slip in through them, Jakob still close by.

                “Milord, are you…?”

                “Yeah.”

                He tried to stay focused. Corrin tried so desperately hard. Anankos was their enemy, not the late Queen of Hoshido. She was yet another unfortunate puppet of his. This wasn’t her fault. This wasn’t their fault. This could be stopped—this had to be stopped, for her sake and theirs. In the corner of his eye, he could see the rest of the royals, grouping together. Sakura was on the ground, Elise by her side, arms around her. She seemed to be crying. Takumi looked angry, Ryouma still seemingly contemplating moving forward to help. Hinoka was grounded, naginata clutched painfully to her chest as she watched. Camilla seemed more focused on an enemy still trying to attack the group, her lightning tome out and casting. Xander was elsewhere, with Leo—Corrin could hear them behind him. It was momentarily clear. His mother was only a few feet away from him.

                It was all up to him, huh?

                “You’ve come for me, haven’t you?” Mikoto spoke out, her hands lifting her Yumi up ever so slightly as she noticed her child. “Corrin…When you were kidnapped, I was devastated.” She continued, Corrin’s grip on the yato continuously tightening the more she talked. “I always wanted to get back all that time we lost. And now I can.” Making the string taut, she aimed it fully at him; Corrin could feel Jakob tensing behind him, readying himself to protect his master. “If you surrender, we can serve Anankos together… Forever…”

                “Mother, you can’t mean that…” Corrin tried, albeit quietly. Mikoto fired her bow, Jakob jumping in front and blocking the arrow in record speed. The rage continued to simmer within Corrin, his jaw locking as he felt a sudden animalistic surge rush through him.

                “This. Ends. NOW!” He shouted, stepping back for a moment, allowing his body to lose itself partly to his instincts. He crouched down, bounding up and towards his false mother. He sliced her down with an intense amount of strength he didn’t even know he harboured.

                “Are we to be separated again, Corrin?” He heard her ask. As her body completely dropped, her limbs no longer strong enough to hold herself up, he finally heard Sakura’s sobbing as she cried out for her lost mother. Without a moment of hesitation, Corrin disregarded the leftover soldiers still fighting and his ancient sword, choosing to gently place himself beside his struggling mother, lifting her slightly onto his person and cradling her head. So similarly to the incident so many months ago, when he first lost her. This time, it felt worse.

                His Hoshidian sibling’s quickly joined him around their mother, Hinoka grabbing her hand, Ryouma choosing to move her sweaty bangs from her forehead. Now up close, he could see just how severe Sakura’s tears were. Takumi seemed to be having a hard time keeping his tears at bay as well.

                “Mother!” Corrin called out, his hold tightening slightly as her eyes struggled to stay open.

                “I’m so sorry…for trying to deceive you…”

                “I know that Anankos is to blame, Mother. It was his power that brought you back…but it also controlled you.” The prince reasoned, body trembling as he held her close.

                “I’ve missed you so m-much!” Sakura sobbed out, her tears near uncontrollable at this point. But she was smiling, so sadly down at her mother.

                “Oh, my dear Sakura. Your smile is so beautiful—I'd nearly forgotten it.” Mikoto sighed back, her head gently rolling as she tried to catch each of her children’s gazes. “Ryouma, Takumi, Hinoka... I'm glad to see all of you again.”

                “We’re…” Takumi started, having to pause as he swallowed down a lump. “Happy to see you too…”

                “You were taken so suddenly, and much has happened since then... We've hardly had any time to grieve. Though...I don't know if all the time in the world would help us accept losing you.” Ryouma explained, still calmly stroking Mikoto’s hair. His face with neither hardened nor emotional—merely a somber smile on his face.

                “All I know is…” Hinoka took in a shuddering breath, trying to stay just as strong as her siblings. “I’m so happy to see you again…”

                “I'm glad that all of you are safe. You've fought bravely to get this far. I'm proud to call all of you my children.” Mikoto nearly laughed, a proud look on her pale face.

                “Thank you, Mother…” Ryouma replied, supposedly for them all. A few moments passed, the silence filled with sniffles and tired breaths of humorless laughs before Mikoto slowly turned back the dragon.

                “Corrin…”

                “Yes, Mother?” Corrin blinked, a bit surprised by her sudden appointed attention.

                “Thank you for... freeing me...” She grinned painfully so. “I see…you are carrying the yato…” She noted, Corrin glancing briefly at the sword a few steps away from them. “I always believed in you…Believed that you would defeat me.”

                “It's hard to feel good about living up to your expectations...” Corrin choked up, unable to really hold back his tears any longer. They quietly fell down his cheeks, the reality of having been responsible for his mother’s ‘death’ once again hitting him hard.

                “Don't cry, my child. Save those tears for when you...celebrate your victory with your friends.” She tried to reassure, her free hand moving to hold onto the arm wrapped tightly around her, keeping her up right. Corrin sniffed a few times, biting his lip as he attempted to will himself to stop.

                “Ok, Mother…”

                “Listen, Corrin.” Mikoto breathed, her voice wobbly as she strained herself by continuing to talk. “I have something…Very important to tell you. I was born here, in Valla. And you…You are part of the Vallite royal line.”

                “What?” Corrin raised an eyebrow in disbelief, tears forgotten. “I’m…Vallite royalty?”

                “You are. Arete, the former queen of Valla, is my older sister.” Mikoto smiled, her eyes glancing towards something in the distance. Confused on what had her so fixated, he too quickly turned his gaze over, surprised to see Azura standing far off in the corner, tears also in her eyes. “Because of the curse, I wasn't able to say anything about her before now...”

                “I'm...completely at a loss for words...” Corrin admitted, having to force his gaze away from the quickly growing uncomfortable Vallite princess. They were…Cousins? This whole time? Their lives were always so incredibly similar and intertwined in the strangest ways and this was the reason behind it? Had Azura known?

                “I know this might be difficult to believe, especially right now. But it's important to remember... where you came from...” Corrin returned back to his mother, her features shaky and slowly becoming harder to see. He couldn’t find an answer to reply with—how could he? What could he possibly respond with that wasn’t straight up doubt? “You must all go now. A powerful servant of Anankos awaits you.” She spoke up once more, her voice stronger for this one moment as she addressed her children, still patiently by her side. “Be careful. Do whatever you have to do, and survive.” Her body was quickly bubbling and floating away, disappearing from their sight as she slowly moved on from this world. “I'm so glad that we could be together one last time.” Corrin could feel her body become lighter, his arms slowly losing their hold of her as she disappeared.

                “Mother, don't die! You can't l-leave us again!” Sakura sobbed, a hand barely reaching out to the bubbles floating away into nothing.

                “Please don’t go!” He heard Takumi cry, openly shedding tears as he begged her to stay.

                “Mother…Rest in peace.” Hinoka spoke out, her bottom lip trembling as she fought to keep a smile on.

                “I will keep making you proud…” Ryouma mumbled, his voice soft, almost a whisper as he watched, still stationed on the ground. Corrin moved his hands back to his lap when she was finally gone, his eyes stinging as he held back the tears he promised to keep for when they won. Those around them finally came back to his reality and he found it hard to even greet them after such an intimate and painful reunion. They couldn’t stay there forever—Their mother had already warned them about their next fight.

                Their mother. _Their_ step-mother. His Vallite bloodline.

                Gunter was by his side then, pulling him back up before he could protest. The rest of the Hoshidan siblings were quietly picked up, piece by little piece, by their comrades. A quiet murmur started throughout their group, something that Corrin choose to ignore as his eldest retainer moved him to lean against a wall before he was handed a vulnerary.

                “So then…I’m Vallite royalty…” Corrin spoke absentmindedly, the health potion fiddled with in his hands rather than drank.

                “Interesting.” Gunter commented, too busy assessing Corrin’s many cuts amongst his body.

                “ There's no time to think about this right now.” The prince grunted, pushing up from the wall and Gunter, stumbling towards his yato yet again and thoroughly ignoring the knight’s objection.  “We still need to defeat Anankos and win this war. For Hoshido and for Nohr.” Returning it to its sheath, he quietly added to the air above them. “Mother, I will do this for you. I will bring peace to this world.”

                “Corrin!” He heard Xander call out, turning to see his elder Nohrian brother huff at his state. “Are you alright?”

                “I’m fine, big brother.” Corrin smiled tiredly, the vulnerary tucked away for a later time. “We need to keep moving. We’re so close to our goal, we can’t afford to stop here.”

                “I apologize but I have to disagree.” Xander retorted, moving to block Corrin from moving away. “You’re exhausted—not to mention badly injured. What just happened—“ Xander glanced around, a look of remorse appearing on his features at the sight of their Hoshidian allies. “We need to pull back.”

                “What?!” Corrin exclaimed, awkwardly moving a step back from the paladin to stare up at him curiously. “No! That’s—“            

                “Corrin, if you keep this up, you’ll die for sure.” Xander stated, his voice firm just like in the old days, back when he would train Corrin first thing early morning. “We, as an allied group, cannot afford to lose you! Physically or emotionally!” Corrin froze at that, a soft glare forming as he gazed up at Xander.

                “I can’t just pull back now. Not when we’re less than some hours away from meeting our main target head on!”

                “That’s _why_ we need to pull back!” Xander argued, a hand placed on the boy’s shoulder, stopping him from stepping away from their fight. “You’re not fit to be fighting! Anymore of this madness and I truly believe we’ll lose _you_ and _many others_!”

                “Brother…” Corrin felt his anger diminish ever so slightly. “Xander, you have to trust me…” He brought up a fist, lightly tapping the man’s armoured chest. “Just like I trust you. We can still fight. I know I can.” The Nohrians shoulders fell in defeat and the hand on Corrin gradually slipped away.

                “I do trust you…” Xander admitted, suddenly tired. “Fine. We’ll continue on. But—“ He pointed at the dragonkin, absolutely serious as he spoke. “If things get too heated in the next battle—if you get anymore injured, we’re pulling back. I do not wish to see the people I love placing themselves in obvious danger.”

                “Alright.” Corrin agreed, sighing as Xander finally stepped back to give him some space.

                “And I don’t believe you should be walking right now. After what you’ve been through—“ Xander didn’t need to talk much more before the gentle null of a horse nearby caught them both by surprise.

                “I can take him.” They both turned around at the familiar voice, Corrin relaxing at the sight of his supposed best friend, Silas, looking down from above.

                “Silas!”

                “I would be grateful, Silas.” Xander nodded, a small smile on his face. “I know you’ll take good care of my brother.”

                “Of course.” The young knight smiled in return, happy from the acknowledgment from his future king. “Would you be okay with that, Corrin? Just so you can rest for a bit.”

                “Yeah, I’m okay.” Corrin reassured, taking the hand placed out in front of him as he pulled himself up and onto the horse. “Xander, can you tell Ryouma we’ll be moving out? And could you see that Jakob and Felicia get some healers working on our soldiers as we march?” The elder prince quickly nodded his head and he was off, Silas taking that as to maneuver them away and towards the exit. “Thanks for this, Silas. I’m sorry to be a bother.”

                “You’re never a bother, old friend.” Silas laughed, eyes forward as he steered the mount through the many debris laid out beneath them. “It’s the least I can do. I can tell you’re tired.”

                “Is it that obvious?” Corrin muttered, earning another short laugh from the knight. As the horse trotted on, he could feel himself gradually losing his strength, ending up with his head gently placed against Silas’ back. “Sorry…I guess you know me too well...”

                “Rest for a while, Corrin.” He could hear Silas murmur, his eyes gently closing as he heard others catch up behind them. “You’ll be safe here.”

                

* * *

 

                Corrin was woken up reluctantly about a half an hour later due to the fact their group was completely and utterly lost. The castle was grand, with large rooms with high ceilings in almost every exit. Considering this was supposedly the ‘main floor’, it wasn’t necessarily hard to believe it would be so grand. Alas, they woke the napping prince up to have him help with some ideas on how they should go about it. Thanking Silas, he led the group alongside Azura for a dozen minutes or so before he agreed on the complexity of the palace. Though they led in silence—neither wanted to bring up Mikoto’s revelation. It just didn’t seem to be the time or place.

                “This place is one giant maze…It’s so frustrating.” He finally grumbled to the girl beside him.

                “You’re right…It might be easier if we split up to search the castle.” Azura commented with a sigh, her lance out being used as an impromptu walking stick. It seemed Corrin wasn’t the only one feeling wary after so many battles. He also found the suggestion amenable, considering so many of their retainers had already cleared the way of any stray Vallite soldiers, making it safer to go alone.

                “Agreed. Everyone! We’re going to split up.” Corrin called out to the resting party, waiting amongst themselves for his command. “We’ll regroup once someone has found the stairs leading up.”

                “Call out once you find the stairs.” Azura said as well, before turning back to tell Corrin, “I’ll sing to alert everyone else, and we’ll all move forward together.” With a nod, Corrin and her went their separate ways, the other royals gradually moving out to search for the exit as well. His retainers offered to join him but Corrin declined the offer, saying it would be faster the more people actually looked. And in all honesty, he needed the space to think.

                As he ventured throughout the halls and through many doorways, Corrin took the time to reflect on their previous battles; Seeing Scarlet once more. Seeing their Mother as well, both manipulated and played with against them. He remembered Sakura’s cries, Azura’s worriment and especially, the few tears Ryouma shed when he watched his former companion vanish once more. He reflected on his newly founded out lineage—this was technically his old home then, was it not? Or was he not born in Valla, like Azura had been? His Hoshidian siblings—they weren’t blood related after all. They held in regards of family just the same as his Nohrian sibling’s now, that being his ‘step’ family. It still hurt. It still was terribly painful realizing he wasn’t truly related to them after all. He wasn’t a Nohrian prince nor was he now a Hoshidian. He was Vallite. Apart of the Invisible Kingdom.

                Making his way finally towards the end of a large hallway, he was brought out of his negative considerations at the sight of stairs leading up towards the second floor.

                “Aha, found them.” He spoke to no one. Eager to move on, he called out even before he turned around to trace back his steps. “Hey! Everyone! They’re over—“

                He was interrupted by the same, eerily frightening voice he had heard so long ago. They spoke the same quote, their declaration of lost identity.

                “I am the forgotten dragon. The betrayed king. The entombed god…” He felt himself tense up, eyes scanning in front of themselves as the voice grew louder.

                “What in the world?”

                “In the name of the King of Valla, I sentence you to DEATH!” Sensing something behind him, Corrin turned around just in time to meet the sudden force of magic head on. He was already so battered—so injured that the intense attack was enough to completely knock him out in an instant.

                He woke up Gods know how much later to the familiar sight of his old retainer, Gunter. The elder man sighed in relief, the look of worry still on his scarred and wrinkled features as he helped prop the prince back up to a seating position. Corrin’s head was swimming. He felt so incredibly dizzy, it was a miracle that he kept up the conversation with Gunter as he explained his hunch to the loyal servant. Gunter seemed determined after being told that his and Ryouma’s suspicions were in fact true—that someone was very likely betraying them from within their group, to go out and investigate alone. Corrin wouldn’t have it. He was dizzy but he wasn’t about to give in just yet. No, he wouldn’t give Xander or himself the satisfaction of rest just yet. Not when he was just attacked. He also didn’t want to start distrusting those around him. He would very likely go mad if he allowed himself that.

                Together, they hastily made it up the stairs, in hopes of catching whoever had attacked him. Shockingly, the found Azura, scanning the dead end in front of them quietly. Seeing Corrin there, she cocked her head curiously at him.

                “Is that you, Corrin?”

                “Azura? I didn’t realize you were near…” Corrin huffed, the stairs having had winded him somewhat.

                “Corrin, you look pale.” Azura frowned, taking a step towards her supposed cousin. “You as well, Gunter. Is everything ok?”

                “What are you doing here, Lady Azura?” Gunter gritted, his guard up as she enclosed in. “The only way to here is by coming down that corridor. I saw no other way…”

                “Gunter,” Corrin started, muttering low enough that only Gunter’s ears could hear. “don’t tell me that you think…You believe that Azura was the one who…”

                “What are you talking about? What happened?” The princess urged, her frown deepening the longer the two men refused to answer. Yet again, they were interrupted as a flash of magic appeared beside the woman, making her jump slightly and rush over to the two others. Two soldiers were transported to them then, armed and ready.

                “We’re under attack!” Corrin cried out, unsheathing his Yato once more. “Azura! Alert everyone to gather here!” He ordered, the songstress nodding quickly and running down the corridor to begin singing, her voice loud and drowning out any other noise.

                “But, milord…” Gunter frowned, choosing to withdraw an axe from on top of his mount.

                “I’m sorry, Gunter. I know what you’re thinking. But you know me. You know, above all else, what I have to do.” A disappointed look appeared on the retainers face for a split moment before he returned to a more passive and neutral look.

                “…You can’t stop believing in people?”

                “Correct. And I’m not going to start now by no longer trusting those closest to me.” Corrin smiled tiredly. “Now, let’s meet the enemy!” Azura returned then, alongside Ryouma who appeared to have been the fastest of the group to come. Once arrived, one other solider appeared in front of him, the transparency and smoke flickering away to reveal a sickeningly familiar sight. The same hooded figure that had caused his mother’s death in the first place, yet again laughing at their group. “I recognize you!” Corrin yelled, raising his Yato higher in front of himself. “You’re the one who appeared in Hoshido and killed me mother!”

                “Hahaha…Do you have any idea how amazing this feels?” The person continued, a wryly grin on their face. “Not only have my own children come to fight me, but you’ve all grown so strong…There can be no greater challenge of my abilities than this.” Without pause, the soldier withdrew their hand covered by their long sleeves to only tear the hooded cloak off, revealing a mess of long, brown hair and Hoshidian gear similar to that of a master swordsman. He was bearded and wore a head piece comparable to Ryouma’s own, save the colour. He was grinning viciously, excitement for their upcoming battle clear in his dark eyes.

                “What are you saying?!” Corrin stepped back, bumping into Azura in the way through his disbelief. “Ryouma, is this…”

                “This must be another deception…” The samurai tried to reason, Raijinto still sheathed beside him, his hand readied on its handle. “Or could it really be…Father?”

                “Well done, Ryouma—my eldest son.” Sumeragi praised, his weapon pointing towards the high prince with a grin. “Once I was a king, but now I am lowly servant to Anankos. My fall did bother me, for a time…but no more! Not with opponents like you!” He laughed, so loud and boisterous, that lust for battle consuming him entirely. “I’m so happy my children. Look how strong you’ve become! Strong enough to fight your way here. This will be a glorious battle.”

                “Why does this keep happening.” Corrin heard Takumi mutter somewhere behind him. It seemed like the others had joined them through Sumeragi’s long speech.

                “Come! Show me what you’re capable of—show me how much you’ve grown!” With that, the late king and the other soldiers vanished once more, supposedly transporting away further into the castle. Corrin took a moment to make sure they were clear before he turned back to face all his sibling’s, staring back at him in equal amounts of exhaustion and disbelief.

                “Anankos—Again…” Ryouma muttered, both hands resting on his ancient sword as he stared off into space.

                “I don’t know how much more I can take of these reunions.” Takumi admitted, running a hand through his hair. Sakura was clutching onto his arm behind him, next to Hinoka and Camilla, Elise not too far off from her friend.

                “To think, this whole time…” Xander murmured quietly, off to the side with Kaze.

                “What is your plan, brother?” Leo asked, eyebrows furrowed as he held onto Brynhildr. Corrin glanced at each and every one of them, Xander’s request flooding his mind momentarily at the idea of withdrawing—no. No they couldn’t. Not yet.

                “We’ll fight on.” Corrin said.

* * *

 

                Sumeragi had planned to split them up from the start. He apparently wanted to ‘test’ their strength, using whatever magic Anankos had granted him to maneuver the rooms about, leading the groups to different areas filled with soldiers waiting for them. They were to use the dragon veins, apparently, activating them to slowly open the way forward. Corrin stayed with Ryouma this time—Gods know how much his elder brother had been through today alone. The rest he paired off equally, keeping in mind just how many healing potions/rods and staves they had left in their convoy. They had to be careful this round. Charging ahead like before would just lead to more casualties.

                There was no glory in this battle. No sense of their goal, no flighty determination they had marched out on earlier that morning. No, they were all emotionally, physically and mentally wasted. As he fought through their set of soldiers, Corrin kept an eye on the others progress, stepping in only when he could see them begin to falter.

                Effie, so incredibly strong and grounded, was fighting without a shield. Through their many fights, she had lost bits and pieces of her armor, making her more vulnerable to attacks and thus actually tiring her out. Azama, who was beside her, no longer held a smile on his face, no longer feigned a blissfully oblivious look. He frowned as he slashed through yet another soldier, struggling to pull himself back up straight when he was finally cleared for the moment of enemies.  Kaze worked with Xander not too far from Corrin and the other crowned prince and he was surprised to see Kaze still maneuvering about the enemy as if he could float. Looking in harder, however, he could see the many tears against the ninja’s uniform. He was still fighting but it was obvious how many times he hadn’t been fast enough to miss an enemies blow.

                Ryouma slashed through two Vallite swordsmen guarding near the dragon vein, and Corrin watched as the prince quickly rushed over to activate it. There was a rumble as foreign, unknown magic broke through one of the three locks in place keeping Sumeragi away from them. As they finished cleaning up their area, once more did the floor shake, the other group having had activated their dragon seal. Moving along, Corrin set Xander out with Effie, Azama and Kaze to the third room, already rushing ahead with Ryouma to the room where a small number of enemies were left waiting. Both formidable warriors in their own right, the two made quick work of the soldiers before once more, for the last time, a rumble appeared, the final lock breaking. The door leading them to Sumeragi was finally opened, exposing only the two of them to quite a number of enemies.

                “We’ll get through this, right?” Corrin muttered, eyeing up the enemies crowded in front of the late king.

                “Do you trust me?” Ryouma asked with a laugh, Corrin sharing a smile with the man before the two set out.

                It was true that Ryouma was a beast when in that zone of battle but this was entirely different—Corrin supported the other as he went through enemy by enemy, barely able to keep up at this sudden zeal and purpose. They moved with the room, still lost in battle, and was thankful when the second door opened, revealing the other group, waiting. They charged in, led by Hinoka and Takumi, giving way for Ryouma and Corrin to face Sumeragi head on.

                The old king was waiting for them, ever so patiently—it was only when he took notice of his sons rushing to him did he grin and decidedly met them head on. Ryouma sped up, the streaks of lightning from his Raijinto flickering slightly against Corrin’s worn out body as he tried to keep up. He was so dizzy—so incredibly tired and in pain.

                Ryouma made it to his father first.

               “Ryouma…” Sumeragi chuckled, sword already in hand. “My eldest son…My pride…I _hunger_ for the glory of a battle between us. I expect nothing less than your best—you will be getting mine!”

               “My father…” Ryouma spoke out, calm as ever. “Was a respectable man, a just king, and a true samurai. You, fueled by a lust for battle and glory, are not that man. _I will destroy you for pretending to be him!_ ” Corrin barely returned to his side before Ryouma was off, his battle cry lost within Sumeragi’s. There was an intense surge of strength between them, Corrin watched in amazement as Ryouma landed several hits, finally taking the man down around the fifth swing.

               “My thirst for battle…is not yet…” Corrin heard him speak as he stumbled back, falling against the wall of the room as he was finally defeated.

                And once again, the Hoshidian family gathered around their dying parent, in tears.

               “You’ve all…become so strong.” Sumeragi smiled, pride deep in his features as he looked up at each and everyone of his heartbroken children.

                “Father!” Ryouma exclaimed, taking the other’s limp hand in his.

                “How could this happen?” Corrin glanced up, catching Hinoka struggling to keep herself from crying. “How could our father…” There was a pause before Takumi growled, sitting up slightly to glare at the trembling girl standing close by.

                “Sakura! Quickly, heal him!” Takumi practically begged.

                “Oh! R-right!” She held out a hand, steadying it as she casted a healing spell over their father.

                “No effect? Damn it!” Ryouma swore, frantically looking between Sakura and Sumeragi. “Why isn’t it working?!”

                “Why…” Sumeragi laughed affectionately, his voice weak. “Why are you crying? You’ve met and surpassed my hopes for you…As warriors on the battlefield…And as royalty of Hoshido.” His head lolled, eyes closing as his smile grew. “I couldn’t have wished for anything better. Be proud. Be proud of who you’ve become.” He took in a deep breath, beginning to struggle. “And…Know that I am.” There was a quiet affirmation from the royal children, Ryouma the quietest of them all. When passed, the late king forced his eyes open to gaze at Corrin, regret mixing in with his smile. “…Corrin. I must apologize to you.”

                “Why, Father?”

                “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you that day…Your life could have been so different if only I’d been stronger.” He sighed, Corrin’s face becoming flushed at the vivid returned memory of how Sumeragi had attempted to protect him from the ambush carried out by the possessed Garon. He become conscious of the long scar he had from his cheek, but shook his head either way.

                “Father…Don’t apologize!” He tried to reassure. “They’re faint, but I still have memories of my childhood with you…” A smile eventually crept up onto his lips as he recalled what he could from his broken up past. “I remember watching you swing your sword…Feeling safe when you patted me on the head with your big, warm hand…” It was getting considerably harder to keep his tears at bay. This day had drain him entirely of his strength. “I knew that you loved me. And you gave your life trying to protect me.”

                “Hah.” Sumeragi closed his eyes once more. “Such a forgiving young man…” After yet another pause, he asked, “Corrin, did you find Mikoto?”

                “Yes, we did…”

                “That’s good. Though I loved her dearly, my time with her was so brief…” He admitted quietly. “I’ll never forget the day we first met. She’d traveled alone to Hoshido from Valla. When I saw her standing by the lake…I knew immediately that I was in love.” The family shared a short laugh, the memory a sweet pause within their constant despair. “Sometime later, after Anankos had taken Valla, Mikoto fled to Hoshido. She brought with her a newborn child. That child was you, Corrin.”  The samurai struggled to keep his eyes open. “Ugh…What a disgrace. I’m nothing more than a Vallite puppet now.” Through his pain, he still smiled. “At least I can spend my last moments with all of you.” He was losing the battle, his features weakening, his eyes finally closing once more. “All of my children, all grown up…I’m so glad we could meet again.”

                His body began to disappear, just like Scarlet and Mikoto before. Just like so many others they had cut down throughout this war. “Now I can die without regrets. After all…I believe…that all of you…can win this war.”

                “I’ll do my best.” Corrin whispered, locking his jaw as he had to watch, once again, as another person he loved disappeared into nothing.

* * *

 

                They were a mess. Absolutely a mess. The Hoshidian royal children were already on the verge of tears as it was, but those original hailing from Hoshido were faltering in their steps, having seen their late Queen and King vanish in front of them yet again. Those Nohrian were awkwardly trying to comfort those in need, at best. Others were mainly just silent. Those others were the Nohrian royalty.

                Corrin could barely stand.

                Azura and Silas helped him away from where Sumeragi had disappeared, letting him rest away from their comrades for a moment. Azura crotched down, opening up a healing potion and pretty much forcing it past Corrin’s lips, her expression hard to read.

                “Corrin…” Silas tried, his voice losing itself when Corrin didn’t respond. He was too far off. Too emotionally and physically drained as he finally swallowed down the vulnerary.

                “You _bastard_!” The two looked up to see in time Takumi charging over to where Corrin sat, his eyes red. “This is all your fault!”

                “Takumi!” Hinoka and Ryouma called out, already making their way to the fuming boy. Camilla started her way over as well, her protectiveness over Corrin coming into play.

                “B-B-Big brother, please!” Sakura begged, being held back by a still worried Elise, the Nohrian princess’ face wet from tears.

                “It was because of _you_ that father died. It was because of _you_ that our mother died. It’s because of _you_ that we’re even in this hell right now!” He yelled, pulling Corrin up so they were eye level before either Azura or Silas could stop him.

                “…What do you want me to say?” Corrin replied, expressionlessly. “That I’m sorry? That I didn’t want them to die just as much as you didn’t? Well, I’m sorry, Takumi. I’m sorry Ryouma, Hinoka and Sakura, for taking away your parents—for taking away _my_ parents!” Corrin was losing himself, his usual cool lost within his exhaustion. “If I could, I would go back in time and make it so that I was the one who died. _If I could, I would!_ But I can’t! So don’t go blaming me for something I’m already blaming myself for!” He pushed back, ignoring Takumi’s reply just as Xander stepped in between the two, Camilla not far behind, helping keep the archer away as Hinoka and Ryouma came in to help.

                “Corrin, breathe.” Xander spoke softly, trying to make the other look at him despite being pushed away over and over again. “Little prince, look at me. Breathe. This isn’t you. That isn’t Prince Takumi—you’re both exhausted, please, just breathe.”

                “Takumi.” Corrin could hear Hinoka speak, losing her when she momentarily slipped into the Hoshidian tongue, gaining the prince’s attention. “You don’t mean that.”

                “The hell I don’t!”

                “You don’t.” Hinoka repeated, squaring his shoulders so they were facing each other completely. “This isn’t his fault, just as much as it wasn’t Ryouma’s or mine or yours or even Sakura’s. You know whose fault this is. Hey, you know who our real enemy is.” She pointed a finger at him, roughly jamming it to his heaving chest. “Remember that. We’re a family and we don’t turn on our family.”

                “Corrin…” Xander took his attention back, the manakete sighing, moving his hand to run it through his disheveled and damp hair.

                “I’m okay, big brother…” He said, gently moving around the Nohrian to meet Takumi’s line of sight once more. “I’m sorry, Takumi. For lashing out on you.” The archer seemed determined to stay angry however there was a collective sigh of relief when he faltered, sheepishly rubbing at his neck as he apologised back.

                “No, I’m sorry…I just…”

                “I know.” Corrin smiled, closing in to embrace the now embarrassed young man. “I know...I’m sorry.” The Hoshidian hesitated for a good few seconds before returning the hug, nearly breaking within Corrin’s hold.

                “…Corrin, we can’t stay here.” Xander pleaded when they separated, his usually harsh features smoothened out from concern. “You can’t stay here. I can’t stay here, we all are too depleted of our strength to even think about leaving this room and continuing on.”

                “He’s right.” Azura murmured, hands running through her hair as all eyes moved to her. “We need to retreat…At least for now.”

                “At least for the night, milord.” Jakob spoke up, stave in hand.

                “It just seems like the right idea.” Silas chirped in, Corrin finally breaking and giving a sigh.

                “…Just for tonight…” He mumbled, Xander smiling softly down at him as he wrapped an arm around their leader’s shoulders. “We return first thing tomorrow morning. Is that clear?”

                “Crystal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahhaha I'm dead  
> wwwwwwwwwwwWOW this took a while to type out. there was so much game dialogue that i didnt want to cut out just for these two chapters that i found it more tedious than fulfilling when writing. These two chapters probably were the most conversation focused simply because I was going off the game. the rest of the story will be back to the usual multi-pov chapters with full of gay feelings and sad things ye  
> i hope this wasn't too boring <3 im actually excited now to write the next chapter because 8) angst. and comfort. my two fav things.  
> <3333 love you all  
> -ringo


	7. Recovery

                Returning to the Astral Plane was harder than Corrin expected; not only did they get questioning looks from those left behind but the moment they stepped back into camp, Jakob was all over him, trying to get him to walk to their infirmary. It took some convincing before Corrin gave in, reluctantly allowing Jakob to guide him there.

                “Now, please sit here for a moment, milord.” Jakob said, turning to rummage through their supplies for some salves and bandages. Corrin sighed as he sat, eyes trained to his worrying hands and feet, so terribly dirty and sore. “I apologize, but could you take your armor off, lord Corrin?”

                “Of course.” Corrin murmured back, slowly moving his hands away from his line of sight and undoing all the belts and hooks. He trained his eyes elsewhere, absentmindedly watching others from their army walk in seeking aid. Despite the countless strain of battles, Corrin was thankful that they suffered no fatalities—just many injuries.

The armor, now gone, left a heavy feeling of relief on his shoulders—he didn’t wear much to begin with but after such a long day it was amazing to be just in a tunic and leggings. He placed the dirtied layers to the side alongside his dragonstone and Yato.

                “Does anywhere in particular hurt, milord?” Jakob asked, returning to his side.

                “I already told you, I’m fine—“ Corrin attempted, shut down when his butler gave him a noted look. Giving up, he corrected himself. “…My shoulder hurts. So does my stomach. I think I got hit a few times there.”

                “Very well. Please remove your shirt for me and I’ll take a look.” Doing as he was told, Corrin ignored the tiny ‘tsk’ Jakob gave him when his injuries were finally exposed. He glanced down for a moment, wincing at the sight, before making himself look away; He was incredibly bruised, not to mention he had many shallow cuts at the surface. Choosing not to comment, Jakob went to work applying the salves, the cooling medicine bringing some ease to Corrin’s dull ache of pain. There wasn’t much they could do for the bruises other than treat them here and hope they healed over time. Once applied, Jakob went onto wrapping Corrin’s shoulder, where the deepest injury had been. Sakura’s healing magic had sealed it at the time however through their several fights after, the wound had opened up once more.

                “How are you feeling, Lord Corrin?”

                “Better now, thank you.” Corrin showed a smile—even if he wasn’t in the mood to be worried over, he _was_ grateful for Jakob’s concern and help. “I think I should be fine for tomorrow’s fight.” Jakob hummed in return, seemingly hesitating at the princes’ response.

                “Forgive me but that wasn’t what I meant.” He said, cutting the wrap and neatly tying it off before he began to clean up.

                “What do you mean?”  

                “I--…” Jakob frowned, hands kept busy as their supplies were returned to their place within the tent’s cabinet. “Lord Corrin, I know you. We’ve been together for a very long time—I honestly don’t believe that I would be here if not for you and your considerable kindness…” He glanced back at his master, eyes filled with concern. “What you’ve just been through—I dare say it’s made me more convinced that you are the strongest, bravest person I know. I am eternally grateful for knowing you at this time of your life—because I can help ensure you don’t fall apart. N-Not that I believe you so weak! I just—“

                “Jakob…” Corrin breathed out, the sudden praise and confession surprising him.

                “…You’re amazing, you know that?” Jakob laughed once, shaking his head at his lord. “The fact that we had to convince you to leave after three battles and countless goodbyes…”

                “…I really didn’t want to leave.” Corrin muttered, turning his gaze away and back to the ground, fingers tightening against the cot’s sheets.

                “May I ask why?”

                “Because I didn’t want to fail.” The prince admitted, a guilty smile on his face. “Our campaign has been so hard, Jakob. With the constant death, the unknown and very real chance of failure, the fire, my sibling’s and our army’s internal fighting…” He brought a hand up at that point, brushing back his hair through his stress. “I wanted to at least end it quickly. I don’t want to see my friends and family constantly fighting, constantly hurt by it all…”

                “Forgive me for speaking out of turn, however the same goes for you, does it not?” Corrin glanced up, surprised by Jakob’s closeness in front of him. “They see you out there, you know. Always fighting, always trying to bring peace…It takes a toll on them. Affects them greater than you or I can really know.”

                “You think so?”

                “I wouldn’t be surprised.” Jakob smiled once more. “You are beloved by this army, Lord Corrin. As much as they are fighting to end this war, they are also fighting for you.”

                “Heh…” Corrin chuckled, shoulders falling in defeat. “And here I thought I was fighting for them.”

                “Surely it can go both ways.” Jakob sighed, staring at Corrin’s face for a moment before he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and started to gently wipe at the other’s face. “Now, do you need anymore help? How are your legs? Would you like me to help wash your feet?”

                “No, that’s quite alright.” Corrin laughed quietly, allowing his butler to baby him for a moment before gently pushing his hand away. “I think some rest is all I need. You’re dismissed for the evening as well, Jakob. Please pass the message to the others. We’ll need full strength for tomorrow.”

                “Lord Corrin…” Jakob breathed, watching as Corrin grabbed his weapons and shirt, making his way to the exit. “At least allow me to clean your armor for tomorrow’s march.” The prince permitted one last laugh before he nodded, head turned to smile at the other.

                “Alright. Thank you for always taking care of me, Jakob. Rest easy tonight.”

                “Of course, milord. I will be by shortly to bring you your dinner.” Jakob replied, bowing as Corrin finally walked out of the infirmary. He was tired. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into his shared bed and sleep so that he could be up and ready for the next morning. Xander and Ryouma already told him they would take care of the restock for that evening, ensuring him that they would be ready once he woke. With that out of the way, Corrin wondered to himself whether he should go and visit his Hoshidian sibling’s before retiring.

                The guilt returned.

                Corrin knew they weren’t upset with him. His little spat with Takumi proved that—however the prince didn’t necessarily wish to see their tears once more. Perhaps that was selfish of him. Perhaps that was horrible of him—Corrin knew, deep down, that they all needed some time away to mourn their parents. Besides, they had each other if they truly needed to talk to someone. That thought stung, but Corrin reassured himself that that was what was best.

                Because he wasn’t necessarily their family anyway.

                Walking into his tent, he was taken aback to see Azura there, waiting for him. Her eyes were painful, rimmed red; her hands trembling slightly when she finally noticed him. They both looked away from each other at the same time. This was his family. Related by blood, in that fact. His cousin—Arete’s daughter, his mother’s sister.

                Setting down his stuff, Corrin sat next to Azura in silence, a short amount of space between them as they waited for the other to speak. After many minutes of this, Azura finally spoke up.

                “I didn’t know.”

                “You didn’t?” Corrin asked quietly, watching as Azura shook her head, her lip taken between her teeth as her hands trembled even more fiercely.

                “I kind of wish I had.” She laughed humorlessly, lifting one hand to wipe at her eyes, sniffing. “To think, Lady Mikoto had kept it from me for so long…To think I had family in Hoshido this entire time.”

                “Hey…” Corrin started, a hand reaching out to comfort the princess as she fell into quiet, short sobs. “Azura, don’t do that…” He could feel his eyes start to sting once more and as he rubbed her shoulder, he forced himself to not cry. “…Mother cared about you.” She nodded, still not looking at him. “She knew of the troubles you experienced back in Nohr. Perhaps you were taken simply because of my own kidnapping b-but…” Corrin had to take in a breath, slowly losing himself to his emotions. “But she loved you, I know it.”

                “But you could have been with her.” She corrected, finally looking back up at him, guilt flooding her features.

                “And you could have been stuck in Nohr. Stuck in a place filled with abuse and torment.” He retorted back softly, his other hand moving to tuck a strand of her long, long hair behind her ear. “I miss her, Azura. Just as much as you or any of my Hoshidian sibling’s would…But I don’t regret my past.” He forced a smile, glad as Azura’s cries softened. “I will never regret growing up with both royal families…” At this realization, Corrin truly couldn’t keep the tears from falling. “T-They may not be blood related, either of them, b-but…” He sniffed, Azura’s lips trembling once more as she pulled Corrin into a tight embrace. “They’re our family. They’re our family, Azura.”

* * *

 

                “…What are you doing on my side of the bed?” Leo asked, walking into his tent only to see Takumi curled up, _clearly_ not in his usual spot.

                “Who said it was yours?” Takumi asked, his voice muffled from the way he was turned away from the other.

                “Considering that we’ve slept in our respected spaces for the past month or so…” Leo laughed, gradually making his away to the bed to start removing his armor. “I would say that it’s mine, through and through.”

                “Well whatever.” Takumi sniffed, curling up even tighter when he felt Leo’s weight dip into the bed. “I’m not moving.”

                “I wasn’t going to ask.” Leo admitted, sighing once the majority of his armor was off and set aside to the floor—he would have to clean it up later on. He started to work on his boots when he heard Takumi sniffle once more. “Hey…” He sat up, boots forgotten as he glanced down at the prince’s back. “Are you okay?”

                “Shut up.”

                “I mean, you’re obviously _not_ okay but…” Leo tried, reaching out a hand to attempt to pull Takumi over to see his face only to be shook off.

                “Go away.”

                “Takumi…”

                “I said go away!” He yelled out, finally turning to face the other, face red and wet from tears. Leo felt his eyes widen, not used to seeing the other crying while _conscious_.

                “Takumi!”

                “Please…” The Hoshidian muttered, rubbing at his face with his arm, slowly falling back to the bed. “Just leave me alone tonight. I don’t want to be around anyone, not after…” Leo felt himself falter, his hand slowly falling back to his side as he stayed seated, watching the other sniff quietly to himself, eyes closed and jaw shaking as he tried to keep his tears at bay while Leo was still there.

                “…No.”

                “What?!” Takumi growled, eyes opening once more just in time to see Leo turn back to finish undressing, boots finally coming off.

                “I’m not leaving.” The dark prince admitted simply, sighing when he could finally wiggle his toes without constraint. “Not when you’re like this.”

                “I’m not like anything!” Takumi argued helplessly, sniffling despite his case. “A-And I just said I don’t want you here! So go! Leave!”

                “You’re forgetting that I live here, Prince Takumi.” Leo smirked, lifting his legs onto the bed as he crossed his arms behind his head, resting.

                “You’re such a jerk.” Takumi glared, turning his back at Leo once more, returning to his previous position. “Why can’t you just give me this one thing?” When Leo didn’t respond, Takumi muttered unintelligibly under his breath, choosing instead to try and fall asleep so that he didn’t have to deal with the Nohrian Prince.

                Except he couldn’t. His eyes flooded with tears once more and pathetically, he allowed for them to fall. The archer tried to keep himself from slipping too deep into despair, annoyed when he could feel himself choke up, his nose being plugged up from all the crying. When Leo shifted, he froze, gasping somewhat when he felt that familiar hand return to his hair.

                “Wh-What are you doing?” Takumi mumbled, trembling under the gentle ministrations.

                “You know,” Leo started, ignoring the others obvious question. “I don’t love my mother.” The prince watched as Takumi turned around, exasperated and angered.

                “What the hell does that even mean?! What are you talking about?”

                “Back in Nohr, she’s a concubine.” Leo explained calmly, hand hovering above Takumi’s head as he waited for the other to settle down. “Originally simple nobility, she sought out higher status by engaging in an affair with my father. From this affair, I was conceived. Despite being the child of the man she supposedly loved, I was never talked to unless in front of his eyes.” He paused, hesitating before returning his hand back to its usual place, watching with careful eyes as the Hoshidian prince relaxed under the caresses. “I often wondered why she never loved me. Was it something I did? Was I not good enough for her? I tried asking her this many, many times.”

                “What happened?” Takumi inquired quietly, now settled down beside Leo, tears lessening from the constant stroking hand brushing back his long, silver hair.

                “She never gave me an answer.” Leo shrugged, eyes falling to his hand, watching as his fingers dug gently into the others hair, scratching at the scalp. “Eventually I came to terms of our relationship—gave up the dream of having a mother and father who cared about me and my well-being.” He sighed, hand falling in its own accord to Takumi’s cheek, his thumb swiping underneath the others eye. “That’s why I’m envious that you had such a strong bond with Queen Mikoto and your father. So envious that I desperately wish I could be experiencing the pain you’re in just so I could justify that I had such a bond.”

                “That’s…” Takumi flinched, frowning with yet another sniffle. “Kind of fucked up, honestly.” He laughed finally, Leo smiling back at the remark.

                “It is. And even though I have no experience of motherly love or even clear enough memories of my father’s love, I know that your mother deeply loved _you_. Be it that she was married into your family, she took you in as her own and adored you so much, Takumi.”

                “I know…” Takumi sniffled, eyes beginning to fill up once more.

                “And your father, King Sumeragi—despite the time apart and the actions of my homeland’s betrayal, he was so proud of you and your sibling’s accomplishments—of being able to bring in a small amount of peace into such a heinous ‘underworld’. So, so incredibly proud of how strong you are, Takumi.”

                “I-I know!” The other cried, tears falling sideways down his face. Leo smiled once more, thumb still stroking at his reddened cheek, trying to catch some of those tears.

                “You’re so loved, Takumi. By your parents and your whole family. By your country’s people and your friends. You’re in pain but don’t ever sell yourself short and get angry at yourself.” Leo breathed out, hand completely cupping the archer’s cheek as Takumi cried. “You’re so loved.”

                “Y-You jerk!” Takumi laughed through a hiccup, eyes opening as he continued to still cry. “Where did this mushiness come from all of a sudden? I-I’m not even sure how to react.” Leo laughed, neither moving closer or pulling back.

                “Honestly, I am not entirely sure myself. Maybe it’s just you. You bring out a softer side of me.” The two shared a low laugh, savouring in the peaceful silence that fell between them after their moment. Leo hummed as Takumi took his wrist, pulling the hand away quietly.

                “Thanks, Leo…”

                “Of course, Takumi.” He sighed, finally sitting up on their bed slightly. “Will you be okay?”

                “Y-Yeah.” Takumi smiled, struggling somewhat to also pull himself back up against their frame, wiping at his face. “Let’s just talk about something else, please. Something nicer.”

                “Okay.” Leo nodded, grinning when he nudged the other’s shoulder. “Did you enjoy the book I lent you?”

                “It was fascinating! I started reading it last night and stayed up way too late!” Takumi grinned, the flush still clear on his face as they continued their talk. Throughout, Leo realized a truly fascinating fact—they were friends. Close, close friends. And Leo wasn’t about to give up on Takumi just yet, not matter how deep they got into this war. No, he would rather die than see that happen.

* * *

 

                “Niles.” Azura greeted, tiredly leaning against Laslow as the thief made his way over to the couple.

                “Milady.” Niles bowed his head slightly, eye flickering from her and Laslow to the entrance of the tent. “Is Lord Corrin not awake?”

                “No, he fell asleep not too long ago.” Azura commented, eyes casting down as she felt Laslow rub at her arm, trying to comfort her. They had spent a long time crying together, words absent through their shared misery and lost. After a while, she noticed the prince had fallen into a light nap, face still streaked from dried tears, arms tight around her. It was then she got the idea to invite Niles over. Not only did she think that Corrin needed someone to sleep with tonight, she desperately wanted to be alone with her beloved. Luckily for her, Laslow had came looking for her.

                “Are you sure he’ll appreciate me staying?” Niles asked, surprisingly nervous when Azura smiled at him.

                “Corrin will never admit it first but he cares a great deal about you, Niles. And I truly believe, tonight, he needs someone to care for him as well.” At that, the rouge nodded in agreement, taking a step in closer to the two as he spoke.

                “Odin’s okay with staying with Peri tonight?”

                “He’ll be okay.” Laslow grinned, arm loosening around the songstress. “Peri’s excited to spend the night with Odin. She trusts him greatly.”    

                “Let’s just hope he makes it through the night.” Niles grinned, Laslow shaking his head at the other.

                “Odin’s been through quite the past, Niles.” Laslow slipped out, feeling a bit of protectiveness come out at the fellow retainer’s doubt. “He can handle whatever Peri has to throw at him. Quite literally.”

                “If you say so.” Niles shrugged, turning his gaze back to the singer. “Will you be okay, Lady Azura?”

                “Of course.” Azura agreed, smiling once more at the other. “Thank you for doing this, Niles. I trust you to take care of Corrin.”

                “Milady…” Niles faltered under her stare, weak when it came to Azura’s constant trust and gentleness. Reaching forward and out of Laslow’s grasp, the princess gave the rogue a quick hug, feeling no regret even when Niles didn’t return the embrace.

                “Good night, my friend.” She sighed, finally returning to Laslow’s side and turning themselves away and towards the retainer’s tent.

                “You really do trust him, don’t you?” Laslow asked quietly, glancing back just in time to see the archer slip into the prince’s tent.

                “Given everything he tries to make himself out to be, Niles is simply a broken man with a hurtful past.” Azura admitted, not holding back from the truth. “He likes to push people away. Corrin does as well, to an extent. He would never admit that he loved Niles, just in case he was rejected.”

                “Surely that wouldn’t happen?” Laslow gaped, Azura laughing at his concern and taking a hold of his hand as they entered Niles’ and Odin’s shared tent.

                “I’m sure when Corrin wakes up, he’ll be more pleasantly surprised than hurt.” At that, she brought Laslow to the bed, where they sat. Slipping her hand from his momentarily, she combed her long hair away to start ridding herself of her many layers.

                “Azura…” Laslow started, a blush on his face when she merely smiled gently at him, her long slip and train removed past her legs, leaving her nearly in her underthings.

                “Don’t worry, my love.” Azura giggled, setting the unnecessary clothes aside. “I’m merely getting ready for bed.” Laslow gulped, hands fidgeting at his knees when she laughed tiredly once more. “What’s troubling you?” She asked, finally comfortable once her hair piece was removed, her hair tickling at her newly exposed skin.

                “I’m just…” Laslow grunted, allowing Azura to help lift up his tunic. “Worried.”

                “About?”

                “You, milady.” He murmured, hair tousled by the thing once she finally pulled it over his head. She cocked her head at him, making him blush more intensely.

                “I’m okay, Laslow.” She reassured, choosing to not force him out of his pants and instead tugging him down with her onto the bed, curling up once he finally complied. “If anything, I am tired from the fighting.”

                “You know you can tell me anything.” Laslow pushed gently, Azura nuzzling into the crook of his neck, placing a kiss there.

                “I’ll be okay…” She reassured with a yawn. “Even through the tears I may have shed earlier today…I’m grateful for one last chance. Grateful that I was able to see my mother one last time. And though I’m terribly lonesome without her in my life, I’m not truly alone, no? I have you and Corrin and the rest of my family beside me. Connections so strong that I know I’ll be okay even without her here.”

                “Azura…” He tried again, arm pulling her closer by her waist as she tangled their legs together.

                “What is it?”

                “…I’ve contemplated telling you this many, many times, my love. I’ve been afraid, simply because of a promise I had made so very long ago. But I feel the need to tell you, in chance that it may bring us closer…In case it might help you.”

                “Laslow…?” Azura pulled away slightly, eyes locked on his as he furrowed his brows. He couldn’t stand hearing that name anymore, no matter how much he identified as it now.

                “Azura, my real name is Inigo.” He finally admitted, lips pursing when she became shocked at his confession. “I come from a different land…A land so far away from Nohr or Hoshido or even…” He coughed, reminding himself of the curse still in place.

                “…Where do you come from?” She asked quietly, Inigo wincing. He chose to wait a moment, distracting himself by brushing his fingertips against the curve of her back.

                “I come from a haildom called Ylisse.” He breathed out, slightly surprised by how foreign the name felt on his lips. “There, I was born Inigo. My mother, Olivia, was a dancer from Regna Ferox who joined Ylisse’s private army, The Shepherds. It was run by the nation’s prince, Chrom and his brilliant tactician, Robin. Together, they fought three wars, brining peace to all nations from several different tyrants, seeking destruction and chaos.”

                “Why are you telling me this?”

                “Because I come from a different future.” He said in a shaky breath. “I come from a future where…Where they didn’t win. Where Chrom was betrayed, killed in battle by his most trusted ally and where Ylisse and all the other nations in our world fell.” He closed his eyes, the memories flooding his mind the further he forced himself to talk about his past. “Selena and Odin and I were amongst the very few survivors who fought in that world.”

                “…Are they truly named ‘Selena’ and ‘Odin’?” She asked thoughtfully.

                “…No.” He shook his head. “But that is for them to admit. When the time is right.”

                “Very well…” Azura sighed, taking a moment before she reached out a hand, brushing back some of Inigo’s hair. “What else?”

                “Um…” He hesitated, falling into her soft touches with a sigh. “Well…There…I witnessed my mother’s own death.” He opened his eyes, smiling sadly down at the still shocked princess. “She was protecting me when it happened.”

                “...Oh, Laslo—“ Azura stopped herself, frowning for a moment. “Inigo, I’m so sorry.”

                “Don’t be, my love.” He laughed shortly, trying to calm down his excitement from hearing his true name be called by the princess. “Then, I was so very young. I barely knew how to hold a sword let alone defend myself. After her death, I was constantly beating myself up for not being able to protect her. I would go to her makeshift grave and talk to her, constantly. I would practice dancing in front of ‘her’, cry there, constantly ask why she left me.” Even talking about such a distance, off memory had him tearing up. “I was so broken.”

                “What changed?” The songstress asked patiently, one of her legs rubbing at Inigo’s calf.

                “I was able to see her again.” He laughed, the memory of his screaming when he saw her once again still a precious memory. “Our world was destroyed…There was no saving it. There were 13 of us—13 very foolish and broken children. We wanted to save the world our parents were unable to but we just weren’t strong enough. Our only chance of peace was taken away from us suddenly and we were so close to giving up.”

                “What happened?”

                “You might not believe this,” Inigo laughed, the sound only growing when the princess grumbled something to him. “I still hardly believe it…We have many gods, just as you do here. But for us, we worshipped one final dragon. Naga.” He sighed, the image of the divine dragon still embedded into his mind. “She had been watching over us that entire time. We were in tears, shocked at her presence. Chrom’s daughter Lucina, the princess of Ylisse, was able to wield two great weapons. One was the Falchion, a great sword passed down by many royal families. And the second, was a shield.” He smiled fondly at his love, bringing her in tighter. “The Fire Emblem.”

                “Oh…” She gasped. “The Rainbow Sage told us of such an item before…”

                “Yes, so I’ve been told.” Inigo grinned. “One of the gems needed to activate it was destroyed in our time—there was no way we could preform the ceremony known as ‘The Awakening’. Thus, we couldn’t save our world…But Naga knew of a plan to help us. She sent us back in time, to before the first war even started. There, Lucina, myself and the rest of the children helped ensure victory.”

                “And you saw your mother again?”

                “Correct.” Inigo sighed. “It was strange seeing her so young. She had just gotten married, to be exact. I remember I became so flustered under her gaze that I ran off.” He shook his head at himself. “But there she was, alive and well. I was so happy to see her again…It was strange for her, knowing I was her child. I was considerably grown at that point of time, though still plenty young. Despite the very short lack of age difference between us…” He turned onto his back, bringing Azura with him. “We were a family again.”

                “And what of your father?” Azura asked quietly. “Was he happy to see you too?”

                “Yes, well…” He laughed once more. “He wasn’t too happy with my flirting; I’ll tell you that. But eventually he learned that I was more than just a pretty smile and an outgoing attitude.” He paused, allowing Azura to giggle at that. “He thought it was unbecoming of a prince at first but he accepted me all the same in the end.”

                “A prince?” Azura sat up somewhat, Inigo freezing under the unwanted confession. Oh Gods, he did not mean to say that. “Las—I mean, Inigo, you’re a prince?”

                “Ah…” He sat up all the same, a nervous smile on his face. “Yes. King Chrom is my father. Odin’s actually my cousin, if I am to be truthful; son to Ylisse’s princess, Lissa.”

                “I don’t believe it.” Azura gasped, genuinely shocked by the news.

                “You probably won’t believe my hair is not this beautiful grey either, huh?”

                “Why are you an underling to Xander then? Or Odin for Leo?” She asked seriously, pushing him back down and returning to her spot on top of him.

                “Because we made a promise. A promise to a…To a good friend when we first came here.” He smiled gently. “That I would stay under my alias. That I would help save this world just as much as I helped save Ylisse. It didn’t matter whether I was a prince or just another mercenary. I wanted to help. So I stayed true to that promise.”

                “Oh…” With that, they returned to a comfortable silence, Inigo allowing Azura to take the time to really think through his confession. After a good dozen minutes or so and a slight fear the princess had fallen asleep, Azura spoke up.

                “Thank you…” She started with a whisper. “Thank you for telling me this.” She pulled herself up slightly, placing a gentle kiss to his lips before he could speak. “I’m glad that you came here, Inigo. Whatever your intentions or beginning’s, I’m so incredibly grateful that I met you.”

                “Azura…” He sighed in relief, pulling her down for another kiss, this time deeper and more fervent.

                “Why did you tell me now?” She asked in a huff once pulled away, smiling lightly.

                “Ah…” Inigo felt his face flush even further, sitting up and looking around for his shirt. “Just a moment, I know I placed it somewhere…”

                “Inigo?”

                “Here it is.” He said to himself, untangling himself from Azura so he could sit in front of her, cross legged with his hands cupped together in his lap. “Milady…Azura, you mean so much to me. I have never cared so deeply for someone, have never yearned for someone so greatly as you. You’re so gentle and beautiful, inside and out. Your past and misgivings don’t effect you—you’re so incredibly strong, I’ve fallen so madly in love with you.”

                “Inigo?!” Azura blushed, sitting up, hands worryingly brushing through her hair as he continued on.

                “I couldn’t ask this without you knowing my true self, where I came from and what I will be returning to someday.” He took in a deep breath, opening up his palm to expose a worn out ring to her, still beautifully crafted with the brand of the exalt clear in its band. “Azura, will you marry me? I can’t stand the thought of leaving you. Can’t stand the thought of not living out the rest of my days with you.”

                “Oh, Inigo…” Azura teared up, a hand moving to her mouth as she nodded her head, heart and head pounding terribly so as Inigo grinned and took her other hand, slipping the ring onto her finger.

                “Thank you, my love.” He murmured before gingerly tugging her hand from her mouth to kiss her. The songstress whimpered in return, clutching onto his shoulders as he dipped her back onto the bed. “I may have to depart one day back to Ylisse, but know that this ring,” He spoke in between kisses, moving his body between her thighs, relishing in the way she wrapped her long, slender legs around his hips. “The very ring my father gave to my mother when they were first engaged, is a promise to you. A promise that no matter what happens, I will return to you. Return to your side to live out the rest of my days with you. You will never be truly alone.”

                “I love you.” She sighed into his mouth, falling back and away from his eager mouth to bring her hand to her mouth, kissing the ring so neatly placed on her finger. “I look forward to spending my life with you and our family.”

* * *

 

                “This should be the last of it.” Xander sighed, sheepishly pushing back his sweaty bangs as he looked down upon their restocked supplies for tomorrow’s battle. It was surprisingly a lot of work sorting out an entire army’s convoy, even with help from the other soldiers and a quiet Ryouma. “There’s so much here, if we lose too many soldiers we can simply burry our enemy within our supplies!” He joked terribly, giving a hopeful glance towards the still silent prince standing beside him. The samurai barely met his gaze, a forced half-smile appearing for a few seconds as Ryouma humored Xander’s poor joke.

                Since their return, Ryouma had been terribly quiet, only responding with a few words if truly needed. Xander tried, as awkwardly as he could, to coax a fuller response from the other man as they worked but to no avail, he failed. Understandably, Ryouma was dealing with a lot. Placing himself in Ryouma’s shoes was no easy task, especially when it came to meeting and defeating previously lost family. If anything, Xander could relate to having to keep his feelings to himself, memories of his late night training sessions coming into play the longer the silence between them prolonged.

                “Prince Ryouma?” He tried, merely getting a grunt in return. “Ryouma!” The man in question finally glanced up, albeit a bit absentmindedly. He blinked curiously at the Nohrian, his face blank.

                “Yes?”

                “Never mind.” Xander sighed, looking away with a frown. He was never good at emotional support, an example being his _entire family_ refusing to come to him with their own problems despite him being the eldest. Granted, he didn’t seek them out either, choosing to deal with his faults and mistakes via his blade. At this, he looked back up at Ryouma, the man now awkwardly staring at the door as the rest of their soldiers packed up for the night.

                “We should probably head back.” Ryouma murmured softly, rubbing at his neck. “We have a big day tomorrow.”

                “Wait.” Xander responded, grabbing the other’s arm before he walked away. “Come with me.”

                “Xander?” Ryouma questioned, cautiously permitting the high prince to drag him out the back door where some training grounds were. He cocked one of his eyebrows curiously at the Nohrian when he paused to grab two practice swords. Once outside, the two trudged through the snow until Xander felt like they were far enough away that nobody would interrupt them.

                “Here.” Xander spoke, passing Ryouma one of the wooden swords. “Now, fight me.”

                “What?!”

                “I said fight me, Ryouma.” He repeated, holding the weapon in front of him. “Now.”

                “This is insanity. We have a battle tomorrow and I will not be part of this.” Ryouma opposed, shaking his head at the other and making his way to turn back towards camp only to be cut off by a close swing from Xander.

                “I won’t repeat myself again, Ryouma of Hoshido.” The Nohrian gritted out, maneuvering himself back in front of the other. “Or are you afraid of losing to me?”

                “Will you tell me why you’ve suddenly gone mad if I indulge?” Ryouma snorted, his frown deepening when Xander nodded. “Fine. Prepare yourself.” And with that, he gripped the practice sword in his hands and took a swing at the dark prince. Xander was quick to dodge, however, stepping back just in time. Despite this, Ryouma was faster than him and was able to take another swing in. He blocked it with the edge of the sword, pushing the other off of him with a laugh.

                “You’re barely putting any strength into your blows.” He aimed at Ryouma as he spoke, the other shielding himself with his arms. “What’s gotten into you? You’re known for you unparalleled skill and yet you can barely hold me off.”

                “I’m having an off day.” Ryouma grumbled, wincing when Xander pushed him back a good couple of feet.

                “I’ll say.” Xander forced another laugh, grumbling when the Hoshidian finally geared himself against the onslaught, his feet digging into the snow beneath.

                “Why are you doing this?” Ryouma asked, giving a loud grunt when he finally pushed Xander off, the two going back into their attacks in a matter of seconds.

                “Back when I was in Nohr,” Xander started, groaning when Ryouma kicked him back before he could hit the other. “I was constantly being ordered on missions from my father. Missions that were long, complicated and overall messy, to the point _I_ even questioned my loyalties.” He gave a harsh swing, Ryouma caught surprised when he was forced back yet again. “I could never tell my siblings the things I had to endure for the good of my country. I could never complain.” His voice was loud, slightly out of breath and powerful, his swings growing stronger and stronger the longer he spoke. “I was their older brother, my father’s first son, the crowned first prince of Nohr! Who am I to complain when others are suffering?” Ryouma grunted once more, having slid off to the side when Xander had him locked in once more.

                “Surely you could have tried to start a conversation.” He sighed, a light sheen of sweat seen through the camps off distant light. “Your emotions matter just as much as anyone else’s.”

                “I couldn’t allow myself such a luxury. Just as I’m sure you can’t either.” Xander commented, taking a moment to breath as Ryouma’s focused look turned into a glare. At this, he took a step in and was met with Ryouma’s fast response. “Instead of talking, I would practice. I would go off by myself and swing my sword until I could no longer hold it. I would put all my worries, my feelings and regrets into each attack.” He caught Ryouma off guard, the other too focused in on his story and was able to ram his shoulder into the mans, watching as the other stumbled back.

                “Why are you telling me this?” Ryouma mumbled, getting back into a fighting stance after rolling his shoulder, testing it after Xander’s attack.

                “Because I know exactly what you’re feeling. Because I know how it feels to think you can’t show any emotions, show any weaknesses.” Xander grunted, tightening his grip as Ryouma’s swings got more and more powerful. “It’s okay to regret!”

                “Regret? Regret what?!” Ryouma growled, continuously hitting Xander over and over and over again as Xander moved back into a more defensive position. “Regret that I can’t protect my sibling’s? That I couldn’t protect my parents either?! Or that I have to keep fighting despite how unbelievably tired I am?”

                “It’s okay to not be okay, Ryouma!”

                “You just told me you didn’t have the luxury of such peace, Xander.” Ryouma countered once more, huffing when Xander barely dodged him. “Why am I any different? I have sworn on my father’s sword, so very long ago, that I would protect them. My sibling’s…My mother.” He gritted out, out of breath as he talked over to the waiting prince. “And look where it’s got me.”

                “You’re human.” Xander sighed, a hand going to his hip as he watched the Hoshidian try and catch his breath. “You can only do so much.”

                “But I have the training, the skills I need in order to protect them!” Ryouma lunged, catching Xander by surprise. “And yet I am still so utterly weak! Even today, I was thankful when Corrin pulled us back. Thankful! I should have stayed and fought on!” He placed his emotions into each swing, eventually knocking Xander’s sword out of his hand. The Nohrian could do nothing as Ryouma knocked him onto his back with a forceful kick, the soft snow beneath barely cushioning the harsh blow. He winced when the sword was forced into the ground beside his head, suddenly pinned underneath the samurai’s body.

                “Ryouma?” Xander tried, eyes widening when he felt more than saw the other begin to shake. Despite being on top of the prince, Ryouma wasn’t putting any weight on his torso—choosing to hold himself up via the wooden sword now embedded into the snow beside Xander’s head. He was trembling—because of exhaustion or adrenaline or even sadness, he didn’t know nor cared.

                “I should have fought harder.” Ryouma muttered, eyes unknowingly staring down at Xander’s as his thoughts were elsewhere. “Back when Corrin was taken…Back when Mother was killed…. I should have…I-I should have…” Tears began to appear, slipping somewhat down his cheek before eventually falling down onto Xander’s surprised face. Once he felt the tears, Xander’s face softened and he waited patiently as Ryouma fought with himself to control his emotions. After several moments of quiet cries from a man so incredibly powerful, Xander decided to take control of things once more.

                Reaching up, the Nohrian took hold of Ryouma’s face, hesitantly waiting to see if the other reacted. After the short pause, he treaded his fingers through the samurai’s long, unruly hair before stopping at the back of his neck—from there, he slowly pulled the other down until the Hoshidian’s face was carefully tucked into the jut of his shoulder. He stayed like that for another few moments, allowing Ryouma to get comfortable with the sudden closeness and intimacy. When the other finally released his sword, Xander began to speak.

                “We all have many regrets. It’s the most common thing amongst us humans. And though we cannot change the past, we can change our future—and we’re already doing so, right now.” Xander said, one hand gradually moving to brush through the long and tangled strands of hair. “Though it is unquestionably painful for you and your family, you have already saved your parents from such a terrifying fate…You have already changed your future.” He could hear Ryouma’s uneven breaths against his shoulder, feel the wetness there seeping into his shirt. Xander continued on. “You are human, just as I am. We have so many responsibilities now and even more so after this war…You may feel alone in this, like you must be an example to your troops and family…But know this Ryouma,” Xander sighed, his head knocking lightly against the other’s as he heard a small sob escape from the broken warrior. “You don’t have to hide from me. We are equals, as you have said before. I will never judge you for your emotions or regrets or past misgiving’s. You will always be welcomed here.” To emphasize his point, Xander loosely wrapped one of his arms around Ryouma’s back, giving him a small squeeze. “Always.”

* * *

 

                Camilla glanced up just in time for Hinoka to come walking into their shared space, the red head so incredibly tired she barely noticed the Nohrian stand up to greet her.

                “How is Sakura?” The princess asked, Hinoka accepting the other’s embrace by default. It felt nice to be in the other’s arms, despite having spent the last two hours since their return to camp calming down her younger sister.

                “She’ll be okay.” The sky knight sighed, gradually pulling herself away to try and give Camilla a smile. “Elise came by with dinner just when I was leaving. She won’t be alone tonight—that’s the biggest thing.” The dark princess nodded along, reluctantly allowing Hinoka to leave her touch completely so she could change. “I just feel…”

                “Feel what?” Camilla urged on once Hinoka lost her voice due to her exhaustion and thoughts.

                “Feel like I should have done something more, you know?” The Hoshidian grumbled, no longer caring if Camilla saw her smallclothes as she gradually changed out of her armor into more casual wear. “All I could do was hold her and cry alongside her. I couldn’t offer any advice…”

                “What can you say in this sort of situation?” Camilla sighed, twirling a strand of her hair around one of her fingers as she talked. “No matter what, I’m sure Sakura was grateful that you were there for her at least.”

                “Yeah…” Hinoka replied absentmindedly, sitting on their bed before groaning at the softness, decidedly crashing onto the cot with her arms sprawled out.

                “And how are you feeling, darling?” The woman asked, gentle fingers brushing back the sky knight’s bangs for a moment.

                “Tired.”

                “Have you eaten at all since returning?”

                “I had some onigiri.”

                “Rice balls?” Camilla asked curiously, still getting used to the Hoshidian language around camp. Hinoka laughed dully at her face, nodding.

                “Yeah, rice balls. I’m not really hungry. Just really…” She paused to yawn and stretch. “Really tired.”

                “Hmm…” Camilla hummed, fingernails playing with the very ends of the red head’s hair. “Do you wish to talk at all before bed?”

                “Um…” Hinoka opened her eyes, casting her gaze up at Camilla’s surprisingly worried face. She shook her head slowly before sitting up to get into a better position for bed. “I’m sorry but no…”

                “There’s no need to apologize!” The Nohrian laughed slightly.

                “I just…I’m kind of done for tonight with the whole crying and…” Hinoka started, only to be cut off by Camilla’s lips against her cheek.

                “Darling, you don’t need to explain yourself to me. No matter what it is you need from me, I’ll give it to you.”

                “O-Oh…” Hinoka blushed, a hand raised to her now reddened cheek as she cautiously gazed over at Camilla’s adoring smile. “Anything? That’s a pretty bold claim you just made, Lady Camilla.” The dark princess laughed once more before tugging them both under the covers, her arms instantly wrapping around Hinoka’s sturdy torso.

                “Only for you, my dear.”

                “Then…” Hinoka yawned, far too comfortable and used to Camilla’s warmth by now. “Please let me stay like this tonight…”

* * *

 

                “Tell me about Queen Mikoto, Sakura.” Elise whispered, the two girls already in bed, curled up under the covers together.

                “M-Mother was beautiful.” Sakura sniffed, feeling every type of exhaustion as she talked. Her limbs were stiff from their previous battles that day, not to mention her eyes were so terribly swollen. “She was an amazing healer. And not j-just with a staff…After Father died, I heard from so many people of how she was able to slowly help the Hoshidian people mourn and heal after Father’s death…”

                “Wow…” Elise gasped, the image of the woman still in her mind. She too wore priestess clothes. “What else?”

                “S-She was known to have the gift of prophecy…”

                “Like visions?”

                “Y-Yes.” Sakura sniffled, squeezing Elise’s hand within hers. “She would hardly tell people of what she saw…As she wanted us all to meet our fate head on. But she was gentle and knowing and patient when it came to serving the people.”

                “She sounds amazing.” Elise smiled, despite Sakura still resting her eyes.

                “She is…She was…”

                “Sakura…”

                “No…” Sakura forced her eyes open, albeit squinted somewhat through the darkness so she could meet Elise’s worried gaze. “I’m so terribly sad…That she’s gone…J-Just when we got her back…But I’m thankful…” She closed them once more, afraid she would start crying. “Not just to be able to see Mother again…B-But to meet Father as well…”

                “You were young when he died? King Sumeragi?”

                “Yes. Takumi was fairly young as well…But I…” She paused, taking in a shaky breath to calm herself. “I used to have dreams of him…Vague dreams but nonetheless, I remember seeing him…In the distance…”

                “What was he like?”

                “He was benevolent and fair…And strict. But loving towards us…He trained Ryouma to be the swordsmaster he is today…He doted on Hinoka and Corrin so very often…And from what I’ve been told…” Sakura took yet another pause, choosing to smile gently this time. “He loved Takumi and myself very much.”

                “Mmm…” Elise hummed, taking a moment to nuzzle in deeper against her pillow, fingers lightly moving against Sakura’s. “I could see that…He had this sad look of pride when he was with you guys…” She watched as the Hoshidian’s smile grew. “He was sad but so happy at the same time…”

                “Yes…”

                “I’m glad I got to meet him…Kind of…And Queen Mikoto. I’m glad I was able to meet your parents, Sakura.”

                “Me too.” Sakura giggled tiredly. “What of your parents?”

                “…Father is…” Elise frowned, looking elsewhere. “Father has always been…intimidating…. Since I was a child…But Leo told me he used to be kinder…. My mother is elsewhere. I never see her too often.”

                “I’m sorry to hear that.”

                “Mmm,” Elise shook her head, wrapping another hand around their coupled hands hiding underneath the sheets. “I have a good family supporting me…Big brother Corrin and Xander…Leo and Camilla…” She yawned, voice growing quieter as she thought listlessly of her beloved siblings. “Effie and Arthur…Azura…And you…I love you all…”

                “Hehe…” Sakura giggled quietly, glancing quickly to see Elise succumb to sleep. “Mhm. You have a big, strong family…Just like me.”

* * *

 

                Corrin woke up slowly, far too groggy to just yet open his eyes. He was confused on how long he slept, considering there was still light within the tent. When he stretched out slightly, he was met with another’s body, which he assumed was Azura’s. Mumbling a tired, ‘sorry’, he turned over so that he was facing her, opening his eyes gradually as he adjusted to the sudden light. He was shocked, of course, when he didn’t meet the calm, warm golden eyes Azura had but instead the intense blue from Niles. Sitting up slightly, he blinked down at the quiet rogue laid out beside him, confused as to how they even ended up together in this situation.

                “Good morning, milord.”

                “N-Niles?”

                “Did you sleep well?” Niles’ mouth cracked a smirk as he too sat up. He was without his usual attire, dressed casually in dark clothes and no boots. His hair was tousled from supposedly sleeping, a few ends sticking up from where his eye patch string was settled. Corrin was distracted from such a different look from the archer that he hardly realized Niles had lifted up a hand to brush back his hair.

                “Ah…Yes, but…”

                “You’re wondering how I came to be in bed with you?”

                “Pretty much.” Corrin gulped, feeling the calloused hand rest against the side of his neck.

                “What’s to say I didn’t take advantage of your sadness?” Niles hummed, pushing themselves back against the cot, his body looming over the prince’s in a seemingly intimidating fashion. “It would have been so easy to sneak in with you passed out.”

                “You wouldn’t do that.” Corrin smiled softly, Niles pausing from his ministrations.

                “Oh? How does milord know?”

                “Because I trust you…Just as you trust me.” Corrin hummed in return, cautiously lifting up his own hand and gripping onto Niles’ forearm. There was a pause before he heard the rouge ‘tsk’.

                “Way to take the fun out of teasing you.” Corrin laughed at this, removing his hand to watch Niles flop back to his side off of him, a funny looking pout on his lips as he stared up at the ceiling. “I had so many ideas I was going to use. I wanted to see you squirm.”

                “There’s always next time, yeah?” Corrin shook his head, continuing to keep his gaze on the somewhat flustered retainer before choosing to glance around the tent. “Why are you here? Where did Azura go?”

                “She made plans with me to switch tents for the night so she could supposedly be with her beloved.” Niles waved the thought away with his hand, still frowning. “I was surprised when she called for me. I had no idea that was what she had planned.”

                “She’s with Laslow, huh?” Corrin sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “At least she’s not alone.”

                “I believe that was her plan for tonight as well.” Niles commented, the smirk now returned. “For you not to be alone and vulnerable.”

                “To keep me safe from predators like you?” Corrin joked softly, enthralled when Niles laughed loudly.

                “Yes, exactly.”

                “Tell me something, Niles…” Corrin said, turning back over to his side, an arm moving underneath his pillow to help support his head. “Was I making a good decision when I pulled us back?”

                “I know nothing of tactics, milord.” Niles retorted gently, shrugging from where he was laying down.

                “From a soldier’s point of view then.”

                “I believe you made the right choice.” The rouge answered after some contemplation. “Your brothers and sisters were just as tired as you were, if not less then considering how much you went through…Speaking of,” Niles turned similar to Corrin, moving in closer with little hesitation. “How are you feeling?” When the prince didn’t reply right away, Niles grinned. “You don’t _have_ to tell me, you know.”

                “No, I will.” Corrin reassured with a sad smile. “It’s just…What can I really say?” He huffed and rolled once more, this time on his stomach, his leg crashing into the other’s as he did so. “I feel regretful for pulling back when we were so close…But I’m so happy to just rest for a moment. And deal with…Things.”

                “No one is blaming you for not being strong enough.” Niles spoke gently, a softer expression appearing on his face uncharacteristically. Damn Corrin and his ability to make Niles turn into mush.

                “But---“

                “Corrin.” Niles moved, boldly wrapping an arm around the other’s back, the hand curling underneath his waist. “You don’t have to act strong in front of me. Or explain why you’re feeling weak—you’ve done enough for all of us. Be a bit selfish once in a while.”

                “I don’t think I can afford to do that.” Corrin grumbled, turning his head to meet Niles’ gaze, their faces inches away from each other.

                “You can here.” Niles grinned, Corrin rolling his eyes at the suggestion.

                “Niles…”

                “Look,” the archer cleared his throat, reminding himself that this was a serious moment. “Innuendos aside, I want you to know that…” He cleared it again, finding himself suddenly lost in the prince’s patient gaze. “Uh…That you can trust me to take care of you if you fall apart…I won’t do anything dangerous. I just…”

                “Mm…” Corrin sighed, enjoying himself as the rogue blushed and continued to stammer on. “I see…Thank you. I knew I could trust you.” He shifted over until his head met the archer’s forehead, bumping it lightly. “You know you’re cute when you get all embarrassed like that.”

                “You little—“ Niles growled, inciting a laugh out of Corrin when he returned to his spot on top of him, his arms encasing him in. “Just when I let my guard down, you tease me! You should be punished for that.”

                “Haha!” Corrin chuckled, arms absentmindedly wrapping around the other man’s shoulders. “Are you going to kiss me, Niles?” Said rouge paused, lips pursing together as he leaned forward.

                “Perhaps in the morning.”

                “Now look who’s teasing.” Corrin snorted, fingers moving through the other’s hair as Niles smirked down at him. “…Please…?”

                “Well, when you ask so nicely…” Niles purred, leaning down further, his breath hot across Corrin’s face. The prince barely was able to feel the first touch of his lover’s lips when his butler came rushing in, out of breath.

                “Lord Corrin!” Squeaking, Corrin literally pushed Niles away and sadly off the bed. The sudden exposer to the cold air made Corrin regret the move all the more and he glanced back and forth between the now confused and hurting rogue and the panicking retainer of his.

                “J-Jakob?! What is it?”

                “Ah…” Jakob lost himself in the scene he just intruded upon before shaking his head at himself, remembering the emergency at hand. “Milord, I apologize for the sudden intrusion but we need you. We’re being invaded.”

                “What?”

                “We just got word from tonight’s patrol—you need to get ready immediately!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the user SD for checking up on me after not updating for so long! I really appreciated it!  
> 21 pages later here IT IS  
> NOT EVEN WORTH IT I BET  
> I don't really have an excuse other than life caught up to me and I had to deal with it first. I'm feeling better now and I'm looking forward to writing the last few chapters of this story! It was never meant to be so terribly long but here we are.   
> I hope you guys enjoyed it, even a little bit. Tell me in the comments below which scene was your favorite or any requests you might have for drabbles! Even if I don't update this right away, I can always punch out a few drabbles in between chapters!   
> <3 -Ringo


	8. A Home in War

                 Rushing outside, Corrin was impressed to see an orderly like fashion among the soldiers as they ran from tent to tent, warning the others in the camp. It seemed like they had a head start on the enemy quickly approaching, something the prince was thankful for.

                “Jakob—“ Corrin started, glancing back just in time to see his butler reluctantly try to hand one of his many daggers to Niles, who declined by simply pulling one out from his boot.

                “I have already informed Prince Xander and Prince Ryouma, milord.” Jakob interrupted with a frown, hurrying beside the prince and directing him out of the sleeping grounds. “They have gone to alert the rest of your siblings.”

                “Thank the Gods.” Corrin breathed out, eyes scanning carefully towards the many entrances into the main camp. “Where are we—“

                “Get down!” Niles shouted, tackling the two men in conversation to the ground just as a burst of magic crashed down beside them, the conjured fire unfortunately catching a few tents alit, the snow beneath doing little to stop the spread.

                “Shit!” Jakob swore, shaking his hair loose from the snow he had been buried under. “They’re already here.” Corrin was helped up by Niles who then helped his retainer off the ground. Squinting through the darkness, he could barely see a large mass of Vallite soldiers entering their camp, their watery like outlines slightly illuminated by the fire they had casted.

                “Niles, you need to go and find Leo.” Corrin spoke, eyes still trained on the enemy as he raised his Yato up and ready.

                “Corrin…”

                “He is your lord. You have to go to his side, now.” Corrin gritted out. When he was met with silence, he glanced back to offer a tired smile to the hesitating rouge. “I’ll be okay. Leo needs you.” Niles swore something unintelligible under his breath before boldly reaching over to press his forehead against Corrin’s, warm fingers momentarily threading through his already messed up hair.

                “Don’t you dare die on me.” He muttered before taking off, his warmth all the more missed as Corrin watched him dart through the increasingly panicking crowd.

                “…”

                “Milord?”

                “Come on, Jakob.” Corrin sighed, gearing himself up for battle. “Let’s go meet these dastard’s head on.”

                Corrin was glad he had Jakob on his side for the moment, the old friend and retainer a trusted ally when it came to battle. Corrin was met with a hoard of arrows pointed at him, the enemy soldiers catching onto his charge. Weaving through them as best he could, Jakob worked at the relentless archers with a few of his daggers, eventually silencing one in mid draw. Close enough to their front lines now, Corrin worked hard and fast through them, praying to whatever Gods would listen that more help would come quickly. And quickly it did, the now familiar clash of lightning from Raijinto appearing on Corrin’s left, having had missed some lancer trying to flank him.

                “Big brother!” He called out, Ryouma rushing over to his side as Jakob fell back, noticing some allies in need of healing.

                “Glad you left some for me.” Ryouma laughed, though he looked exhausted.

                “Where are the others?” Corrin huffed, blocking a swipe from an enemy’s sword, Ryouma taking cue and breaking their stance with a quick hit.

                “Xander went to get Princess Elise and Sakura to safety—he’ll be back soon. I think I saw—Oof!” The prince watched as Ryouma was pushed back slightly by a flash of magic, Raijinto barely staving the full blast off. “I think I saw Hinoka and Princess Camilla near the healing tents! They’ve been trying to burn our supplies down.”

                “Oh, great.” Corrin laughed humorlessly, falling back as Ryouma took care of an enemy knight charging at them. A quick glance and he could see maybe half a dozen soldiers slipping past them and into the main camp—they _were_ only two people.

                “Ryouma! Behind us!”

                “Gods!”

                Before either of them could make a move back, a blue arrow pierced one’s head, the Vallite quickly disintegrating into that far too familiar purple smoke. Up ahead, Takumi stood with his Yumi ready, his hair messy and undone from its usual pony tail. Hinata stood nearby his lord, a katana readied and raised.

                “Takumi!” Corrin cheered, the younger Hoshidian smiling back briefly.

                “Corrin! Pay attention!” Ryouma tried, pushing a soldier out of the way before they could hit the younger brother. Corrin gave a weak smile in return, glad to see swordsmaster was also sporting a relieved grin.

                “Sorry, sorry.” Corrin jumped back in, finishing the dastard off with a quick jut of his blade. “I’m just grateful we finally have backu—“ He was interrupted by a scream because of course things couldn’t go easy for once. Head turning towards the voice, Corrin gaped in horror as Takumi fell to his knees, his right hand cradling his left arm as it began to bleed out, Hinata trying to get to his lord but was pinned down by two other Vallite soldiers.

                “Takumi!” Ryouma screamed, the exhaustion and fear within his voice turning it into a disturbing mix. Corrin was already rushing forward, eyes watering at the scene. He then heard a grunt behind him, catching just in time as Ryouma was tackled off to the side by another group of enemy soldiers, their numbers seemingly increasing.

                “Ryouma!”

                Conflicted, Corrin was thus grateful when he saw a flash of magic, branches lifting up and breaking the group of Vallites apart. Leo came into the scene afterwards—shoeless, without his usual armor, with Niles and Odin by his side. Watching for a moment longer as the Nohrian prince kneeled down to help Takumi up, the other two helping Hinata escape, Corrin quickly turned back to help Ryouma deal with his own mess. Though, that wasn’t entirely necessary either, seeing as the Hoshidian had already pushed the few off of him in a loud grunt, sparks flying rapidly from Raijinto in the process, flashing out at the enemy.

                Corrin was very tired.

                But he was thankful, as well. An axe made its way past his head with careful precision, crashing in at the foes near Ryouma. Following said axe was Camilla, dressed in what Corrin remembered as her sleeping wear, as well as Hinoka, a borrowed javelin in her hands as she rushed past her brother. Xander was already back, albeit without a horse, helping Leo move Takumi away from the main assault.

                Corrin was so very, very tired. And thankful.

                Though they fought for their lives tonight, he knew his family was safe for the moment. They could take care of each other now. They would protect each other.

                They didn’t need him to force this bond anymore.

                The dragon prince gradually brought himself back into the present and rushed off ahead to rejoin the fight.

\--

                By the time the last of the Vallite soldiers were gone, dawn had begun within their astral plane. The snow glistened with blood and debris, but they were victorious once more. Though, that victory didn’t come without costs.

                Corrin jogged over to where Takumi had been taken—in front of their now slightly charred up healing tents. Leo was holding him up against him while Sakura and Elise crowded around his front, trying to gently coax him to undo his makeshift bandage.

                “Please, big brother. I need to see how deep it is.” Sakura urged, her eyes puffy and clothes a mess, yet her voice was even and strong.

                “I told you, it’s fine.” Takumi jutted out, hand tightening around the cloth.

                “Says the man who can’t stand up straight without looking like a new born fawn.” Leo lightly teased, earning a gentle knock from Takumi’s head against his chin.

                “Takumi…?” Corrin said, slowing his pace until he was just behind his younger sisters. “How are you?”

                “Oh, you know.” The archer sighed, turning his wrist in a certain way so that Corrin couldn’t see the blood seeping through. “Just peachy.”

                “He’s being stubborn!” Elise huffed, crossing her arms awkwardly, a staff in one of her tiny hands as she did so. “Xander and Leo had to practically drag him over here! He’s just being a big baby!”

                “I am not!” Takumi argued back, Corrin and Leo sharing a small smile as Sakura tried to defuse the situation.

                “You’re not what?” Ryouma spoke up, shuffling through the snow, patting Corrin’s shoulder when he finally closed in. “You still haven’t had your wrist checked?”

                “I promise, it’s nothing but a scratch.” Takumi continued, looking away from his brothers stares as Leo tried not to laugh.

                “If it’s nothing, you’ll show us.” Spoke the swordsmaster, a pressing smile pulling up his lips in a way that seemed far too forced. Even Corrin shuddered at the sight. The injured prince frowned up at the other, contemplating for a few seconds before reluctantly sighing and ever so slowly holding out his covered wrist for Sakura.

                “Thank you.” She mumbled, tentative hands unwrapping the tight cloth gradually, more and more blood being exposed until she finally lifted up the make-shift bandage to take a peek. “Oh gods…” She gasped, Elise peering over her shoulder only to gasp as well.

                “That is waaaaay bigger than a scratch!”

                “It might be a bit deeper but—“

                “Takumi! You could have been in serious trouble!” Sakura chastised, the archer flinching at the remark as he sat up and away from Leo so the prince could stand up and stretch.

                “I don’t know if I want to look…” Corrin muttered, crossing his arms as Ryouma tried to lean in to view.

                “Do you think you can heal it, Elise? Sakura?” Takumi tried, grimacing when the priestess gently turned his wrist around, trying to see the full extent of the wound. Corrin caught a glimpse of fatty tissue and that was honestly enough injury for one day.

                “Maybe…It’s pretty wide for a simple staff.” Elise murmured, her brows furrowed and cheeks puffed out.

                “You may need stitches…” Sakura chipped in, a worried frown on her lips.

                “Takumi, why didn’t you tell us?” Ryouma interrupted, a disappointed look pulling on his face.

                “I think you know why, Prince Ryouma.” Leo quipped, still stretching out his arms, absentmindedly watching his two retainers watch _them_ from afar.

                “To not be a burden?” Corrin offered, a hand rubbing at his cheek as Sakura left for a moment into their little infirmary, possibly for supplies.

                “I can speak for myself.” Takumi said as he shakenly stood up, Leo closing in on him with open arms just in case. “…I know it looks bad, but I can still fight.”

                “Takumi…” Ryouma warned, Corrin watching the two Hoshidians glare softly at each other.

                “I’m not staying behind while you all go off and fight this fucker.” The prince muttered, Elise gasping comically at the swear. “The girls will heal me up, I’ll rest for a bit and then I’ll be good as new! Right?” He veered off, Sakura having had returned with a small basket of supplies.

                “It’s a b-bit more complicated than that, brother.” She smiled, handing the basket to Elise and gently taking Takumi’s wrist back into her hands. “We can stitch you up and heal you, maybe gather up some herbs for a concoction to stop the pain but…You still need time to heal. To rest.”

                “She’s right!” Elise jutted in, getting right up into Takumi’s face. “I know it’s magic but it’s not made out of miracles!” Takumi took the news in defeat, his shoulders falling and anger dissipating in moments after. As he looked to the ground, Ryouma placed a hand onto his brother’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

                “We’re not leaving just yet.” He murmured, Takumi perking up slightly at this. “Rest up for the time being. Corrin can come by later and see if your hand is stable enough for battle.” Corrin nodded at this, having stayed mostly silent for most of the ordeal.

                “…Okay.” Takumi gave in, choosing to ignore Elise babble on how she was right and he was wrong and that how could he possibly know anything about healing magic, that was just silly! Leo leaned in to whisper something, to which Takumi nodded before he was escorted into the still damaged tent by the two young princesses.

                “In the mean time, I’ll see what Xander and I can do with our remaining supplies. They got the weapons convoy early—but we should be able to scavenge some bits and pieces from underneath the rubble.” Ryouma sighed, Corrin nodding back as the high prince walked away.

                “What will you be doing, Leo?”

                “I told Takumi I would get a change of clothes for him, seeing as he’s covered in all sorts of filthy things…Primarily his own blood.” He replied, casually waving over Odin and Niles. “Afterwards I’ll see what Odin and I can do to assist cleanup efforts. They made a dreadful mess out of our camp.”

                “That they did.” Corrin chuckled, offering a small greeting to the two retainers.

                “I’ll leave Niles in your care until further notice.” Leo noted, patting Corrin’s back as he and Odin walked away.

                “Right…Wait, what?!” The prince blushed, glancing in-between the now (tiredly) smirking rogue and his master.

                “That’s not a problem, is it, milord?”

                “What? OH, no. No no no. Not a problem at all.” Corrin retorted lightly, rubbing his neck as he returned his gaze back to the other. He had dirt smeared on his face, blood splatters up and down his front and patches of his clothes were damp from fighting in the snow.

                Gods, why did he have to look so attractive?

                “We should…Probably head back to the tents…See what’s left from the fire.”

                “Oh, you’re inviting me back to your sleeping quarters? Again?” Corrin pursed his lips out into a deep frown (though it looked more like a pout), grabbing onto Niles’ sleeve and pulling him along as he tried to calm his blush down.

                “I-I did say you should…K-Kiss me in morning.”

                “I do believe I said that, Corrin.”

                “What difference does it make?!” Corrin protested, ears and face and neck completely red at this point. He could barely hear Niles’ laugh past his own heartbeat before two arms wrapped around his waist, stopping him in his tracks.

                “You know you’re cute when you get all embarrassed like that.”

                “I said that, didn’t I?” Corrin huffed as Niles hummed, hands hovering over the rogues, contemplating what he should even do in this situation. This was hardly the time! And there were soldiers everywhere! _His_ soldiers! Cleaning up after a raid and he was _flirting_? He had to stop this, he had too.

                “Corrin?”

                “Wh-What?”

                “Kiss me?”

                Aw, fuck it.

* * *

 

                “Ow! Do you have to be so rough?!” Takumi complained, Elise sticking her tongue out at him as she finished wrapping up his wrist. They decided it was best to stitch up the wound as healing it completely could cause problems in the future with his movements. Normally, he would agree to such precautions: at this very moment, he couldn’t care less.

                They were in the middle of a war—no! Near the end of a war, a war that had been going on for years at this point. If he had to sacrifice his left hand then fine! As long as he could wield his Fujin Yumi at the end of the day, he would take on whatever ill consequences in the future.

                Sakura and Elise strongly disagreed with this type of thinking. Thus, despite his complaints and arguments, they stitched him up. The poultice they had placed over the now closed up wound was helping with the pain and the fresh wrappings made his hand feel a bit more secured. He knew, rationally, they were right. He just couldn’t stand the idea of not being out there, in those final moments, with his friends and family. It pained him to think he wasn’t an important enough asset to the army that they could just exclude him entirely and still win.

                He knew this thinking was toxic, yet Takumi couldn’t get out of it.

                Walking out of the tent, his hand now carefully tucked to his side as to not hit it against anything, the prince nearly ran into Leo, who had now changed and was carrying a set of clothes of him.

                “Feeling better?” Leo smiled, Takumi relaxing at the expression. He briefly showed his arm to the other, who winced at the wrappings. Luckily, Leo was a smart man—he didn’t comment further on the injury and simply kept pace with the archer as he waddled through the snow.

                “I feel gross. And tired. And doubly gross.” Takumi groaned, Leo shaking his head at the other.

                “Your hair is kind of matted at the moment, if I am to be honest.”

                “What?! It’s matted?!” The prince asked, his good hand running down the long threads and groaning some more when his fingers got caught in the knots. “Of course it is. This is why I never let it down—it literally will destroy me.”

                “Destroy you?”

                “ _Destroy_ me, Leo.” He tried to ignore the bit of laughter that got out of the dark prince and how it made him smile, his good hand moving to lightly push the other away. “Now I have to take a bath.”

                “Lucky for you, the bathhouse is unharmed.” Leo mused, Takumi’s clothes still in his arms. “I swear, it’s nearly impenetrable—the outside walls are scratched to hell but it’s still working perfectly inside.”

                “Huh.” Takumi sighed, musing for a moment before gasping at a horrible realization. He couldn’t use both hands. “I can’t use both hands.”

                “That’s…A problem?”

                “If I want to get this monster out of my hair, yes!” Takumi argued, pointing accusingly as best he could to where he…thought the knot was. “How am I supposed to brush my hair out now?” When Leo didn’t answer right away, Takumi already knew. “No.”

                “Do you have anyone else in mind?” Leo frowned, still walking with Takumi over to the bathhouse, with Takumi’s clothes, with full intentions of washing Takumi’s hair for him.

                Ah, the power of friendship.

\--

                “Aaaah, ah! Soap! Soap in eyes! Ow!”

                “Stop moving your arms, you’re going to get the bandages wet again!” Leo retorted back to Takumi’s yelling, the other a complete baby when it came to his hair. In Takumi’s defence, it was a lot of hair to take care of.

                “I’m gonna need bandages again if you don’t get me some water!” Takumi argued, relief settling in when a wet cloth was roughly pressed up against his eyes.

                “Hold that there until I’m done.” He heard a mumble, Leo’s hands moving back to rub at his scalp.

                “Are you always this rough with yourself?” The prince mused, happily holding the cloth against his stinging eyes as he felt those same hands pause.

                “Am I hurting you?”

                “Please, this isn’t much.” Takumi waved his injured hand carefully, dismissing the concern quickly. “I just notice you’re usually pretty quick when washing yourself—most people like to actually clean themselves before entering into the bath.”

                “Most people don’t watch others bathe.” Leo snorted, Takumi only replying in embarrassed nonsense as Leo pulled his hands back down to the ends, lathering them up as well. “I’m not sure. I don’t find bathing too interesting, to be honest. I rather be studying. And I can’t bring my books in here.”

                “Nerd.”

                “Like you wouldn’t do it either.” Leo pulled lightly at an end, Takumi laughing at that. “I noticed you like bathing maybe a bit too much.” He commented as he moved to get a bucket filled with water.

                “I thought you said most people don’t watch others bathe.” Takumi laughed again, voice becoming muffled as Leo poured the warm water over top of the others head, soap washing away.

                “How can I not notice you? You’re always in the bath, relaxing.” Leo hummed, moving to brush back some of Takumi’s bangs from his face. “I think I once saw you sleeping in here—Odin thought you drowned. He was going to try and save you.”

                “Please tell me you stopped him.” Takumi turned in his seat in front of Leo, eyes still covered with the cloth.

                “I don’t actually remember…”

                “Ugh!” Leo laughed as Takumi pretended to gag at the idea of mouth to mouth with the ever enthusiastic Odin. “Next time, just let me drown.”

                “Noted.” Takumi huffed, gently moving his bandaged arm as he waited for Leo to get the oils. “Which one did you want me to use again…? The brown one?”

                “Yeah! It smells good, trust me! And it really helps this stupid hair of mine get rid of knots.”

                “Which I’m going to have to deal with now. Great.” Leo mused, hesitantly uncapping the bottle and grabbing a handful of Takumi’s ends, pouring a bit onto it. Humming, the Hoshidian relaxed as he felt Leo begin to brush through his hair. “Why did you grow your hair out so long?” The mage asked, tugging a bit too hard at one point as he attempted to untangle the knot.

                “I’m not too sure.” Takumi shrugged, the cloth that had been covering his eyes now slipping down his face. “It’s pretty normal in Hoshido to have longer hair…Ryouma had significantly long hair when I was a kid and so did Father…”

                “Hm…” Leo replied, pouring a bit more oil onto the grey strands. With the cloth gone, Takumi blinked a few times as the light attacked his sight, his eyes still slightly stinging at this point. “I’m almost done with the knot. Do you need anything else done?”

                “I think that’s all, really.” The archer sighed, relieved he didn’t have to deal with the knot himself while slightly impaired (or worse, leaving it be until after the way.) “I really should thank you for doing this. I know it doesn’t seem like much but it really does help.”

                “Yes, you should.” Takumi swore he could hear the smile in that smart remark. “It’s no big deal anyhow. It’s not like I don’t play with your hair almost every day.”

                “Aha ha ha…Right….” Stop blushing, Takumi. Stop. Blushing.

                “It really does smell good.”

\--

                “Laslow, could you bring this list of supplies to Corrin? Could you also please pass on this note to Camilla for me?” Xander sighed, wiping at his forehead as he held out the papers for his retainer to take. Except he didn’t take it. Xander turned to frown at his retainer as Laslow stared blissfully outward at something. Someone? There was so much commotion he couldn’t really be bothered to know who it was he was staring at.

                “Azur…”

                “Laslow!” Xander called out, the mercenary switching back into reality, slowly turning his head to face his Lord with a bright smile.

                “Ah, please forgive me, milord! I’ll just…Take those.” Laslow tried to reach for the notes, unfortunately for him Xander was holding them up just above the man’s reach. “Ah…Milord?”

                “What did I say about your womanizing interfering with your duties?” The high prince commended, the retainer grimacing at Xander’s tone. “Especially now, of all times?”

                “It’s more than just that now, milord.” The other answered, his grimace turning into a defensive frown. “ _She’s_ more than that.”

                “She?” Xander quirked an eyebrow, glancing around to see who it might have been that had managed to tie his retainer down. Sadly, part way through his search his eyes locked onto Ryouma, who was busy carrying crates upon crates of supplies whilst still talking to Mozu, like it was the easiest thing in the world. How did he get so strong? And after so much fighting, he still had so much energy? He heard Laslow chuckle but didn’t look back in time for the mercenary to jump up and steal the notes from his hand. When did he lower that?

                “Apparently I’m not the only one with someone occupying my mind.” The man winked and briskly jogged away. “I’ll find…Whoever these notes are for! Take care, milord!” He called out, waving as he rushed passed the crowd. That left Xander, flustered and confused, his hand still extended out, as if he was still holding onto the notes.

                “Occupying…my mind?”

                Xander had to sit down.

                He sat down in debris and rubble but he had to sit down nevertheless. He rubbed at his head, at the crown he wore as his symbol of identity—of his life and home. A home he cherished so much, he would leave it and defy orders from his very king just for the odd chance he could save him. But when did he really last think of Nohr?

                Everything was so different now. The astral plane, the army Azura and Corrin had cultivated and built from the ground up, was something of a home to Xander now. He didn’t realize that until recent. War was overwhelming—self-sacrificing and yet he loved it here. He was surrounded by his family, by comrades and brothers in arms. But there was something else. Someone else, that made it feel more like a home.

                “There you are.” Ryouma huffed, surprising Xander as the swordsmaster leaned against his back for support, sitting alongside him in the mess that was their supply cabin. “Corrin wants us all to take a break for lunch. To be honest, I’m not that hungry—I could go for a nap really.”

                “A high prince, napping before noon?” Xander laughed, the rumbling of Ryouma’s shared laughter vibrating against his back.

                “If you don’t tell anyone, I won’t.”  The prince hummed, adding more weight against Xander. “Countless battles, emotional breakdowns, surprise invasions, and sleepless nights. We’re really at war, aren’t we?”

                “What clued you in first?” Xander smiled, allowing himself to be pushed forward as Ryouma stretched, the good majority of the crowd already gone in search of food.

                “I think the snowball fight, honestly.” Ryouma sighed, the sleepiness in his voice clear as day. “I don’t think I have ever had so much fun until that night. We have to be at war; how else could I break down such walls?”

                “You have walls?”

                “Don’t most people?” Ryouma questioned, a hand lazily batting against Xander’s hip. “Honestly…I don’t think any of this could have happened without you.”

                “Now I know you’re really exhausted—you’re sleep talking!”

                “I’m being serious, Prince Xander.” The Hoshidian mumbled, his voice losing its volume, heightening in emotion. “Corrin was devastated when he thought you and Leo had abandoned us. It almost looked like he didn’t want to push on. But you came, and we jumped, and now we’re here.”

                “Corrin was the one that made us share a bed.” Xander muttered, a hand idly pushing itself through some nearby snow. Ryouma chuckled again before he leaned the back of his head against Xander’s shoulder.

                “He seemed adamant on making us share a living space more so than anyone. I still remember the first night. Your snoring was atrocious.”

                “I’m still not over that insult, you know.”

                “From the pillow fight? I won that, I think.”

                “You absolutely did not!” Xander laughed, nearly throwing Ryouma off his shoulder the other was so limp against him. “I won fair and square. I also won the snow ball fight.”

                “That fight was utter chaos and you know it.” Came the sleepy reply. Xander smiled as Ryouma’s weight got heavier and heavier against him. “We really couldn’t have done it without you…I couldn’t have…”

                “…”

                Someone made war feel like home. Maybe because war had no boundaries and was always exceeding emotions and barriers—walls built around the very people fighting to keep them up. Someone brought warmth into a war within winter. Someone brought hope that Xander could make a home worth living for. Xander leaned his head against Ryouma’s as his eyes slowly closed as well.

                That someone had to be Ryouma.

* * *

 

                Waving the other over, Hinoka smiled brightly as Camilla took a seat across from her in the mess hall, a small portion of bread and soup on her plate similar to her own.

                “I didn’t think you’d make it!” The Hoshidian commented, tapping the princess with her foot underneath the table. “You always seem to miss meals in the mess.”

                “I don’t miss them, darling.” The malig knight assure, breaking off a piece of her bread to dip into the creamy broth. “I have my retainers bring them to me separately.”       

                “Do you not like lines? Or crowds?” The other asked, simply drinking the soup from the bowl itself, far too hungry to care for manners at this time.

                “I suppose you could say that.” The woman replied, Hinoka humming in response. The mess was a large hall (that currently had a huge hole in it but that was a problem for another time), filled with many benches and tables—a few members of the army were selected each week to go on kitchen duty. It just happened Kaze, Charlotte and Mozu were working together this round. Even through the sudden winter, invasions and loss of supplies, they were able to make a delicious dinner for all the troops.

                “Are you enjoying the food, at least?” She asked, ignoring the fact that she had leftovers of soup on her upper lip. Hinoka could practically feel Camilla’s smile grow, making her shiver.

                Or maybe it was just Camilla’s foot going up her leg.

                “I’m enjoying the company far more.” The other cooed, Hinoka smiling at that and moving to wipe her lip. Before she could say anything more they were interrupted by a flash of red hair and a loud bang on the table.

                “Ouch.”

                “How is it that you fall while walking in a straight line?!” Selena cried down at Setsuna, who had fallen just at the edge of the bench (while miraculously not spilling any of her soup in the process).

                “I don’t know…”

                “Selena! How are you, my darling?” Camilla smiled softly, the retainer in question becoming flustered at the attention.

                “Lady Camilla! And Lady Hinoka! We were,” She paused, just in time to hip check Setsuna into attention. “We were wondering if we could join you both in lunch today.”

                “I don’t mind! Unless you’re here to ask for more money, Setsuna. I can’t repay you back until after this mess is dealt with, Selena. I’m sorry.” Hinoka smiled, Selena wincing at that—for both Setsuna’s and her own sake. Camilla, on the other hand, choose to pout.

                “I don’t see why not.” She sighed, though she kept a smile on her face. (Then again, smiles with Camilla weren’t always the same as anyone else, Hinoka noted). Selena smiled and easily sat in next to her Lady while Setsuna casually climbed in next to Hinoka. The foot that was near her knee was pushed back due to the seating arrangement and Hinoka couldn’t tell if Camilla was mad or not. Even after so much time together, the red head didn’t really understand all of the dark princess’ antics.

                “Soooooo…” Selena started, not even pretending to eat her meal. “Who is your type, Lady Hinoka?” Camilla, mid sip, choked somewhat at the question. Hinoka could only tilt her head.

                “What brought this on?” She laughed, tearing into her bread with her teeth.

                “Oh, Setsuna and I were talking about how close everyone’s gotten since we started this campaign! Isn’t that right, Setsuna?” Selena tried, only to groan when the archer slowly looked up from her plate, her mouth full of bread and soup. She could only nod in response after an intense stare from the girl.

                “Oh, well…” Hinoka hummed, choosing to chew her food first before answering. “I suppose I don’t really have a type…? I didn’t really think of relationships while growing up, or romance in general. I was so focused with my family, I just didn’t have time?” Hinoka tried, Selena now staring at her with such curious, wide eyes.

                “That’s rather admirable.” Camilla commented with a smile, her foot having found Hinoka’s leg again, gently touching it. “I think family should really be the focus within any relationshi—“

                “C’mon, you have to have some kind of type!” Selena interrupted, her fists gently found the table, almost causing Setsuna to spill her soup. Hinoka carefully pushed the soup back onto the table before raising an eyebrow at the retainer.

                “Do I? D-Does everyone have a type?”

                “Sure! Right, Setsuna?” Selena tried again, nearly fuming at the sight of Setsuna dropping her spoon into her soup and simply watching it drown under the broth. “Ah…W-What about you, Lady Camilla? You have a type, don’t you?” Hinoka watched as Camilla ever so slowly smiled at her retainer, laying her spoon down so she could blot her mouth.

                “I suppose I do.”

                “What is it?” Hinoka asked, genuinely curious; she really did have no experience in romance up until recent. She had always been so much more focused on finding Corrin and caring for her family back in Hoshido. Now with the war, you’d think her priorities would have change a bit.

                “Oh, I suppose I find muscles quite attractive.” She commented, curling a hand under her chin as she nonchalantly looked elsewhere. “Someone who can tame a beast is always attractive too—mounts are so hard to control at times.”

                “Tell me about it.” Hinoka laughed, bringing the last bit of her soup to her lips.

                “Family oriented is always a good feature too. Shows that they can be protective.” Camilla hummed, her foot still tapping lightly against Hinoka’s shin. “Someone who can dedicate themselves to training and still be a well-rounded person. I suppose I also have a thing for red heads.” Her foot had started dragging up slowly once more, nearing Hinoka’s thighs at this point. Feeling her face heat up, the falcon knight gradually lifted up her gaze to try and meet Camilla’s. She couldn’t. Noooo, she couldn’t possibly…?

                “I-If you’re thinking about Tsubaki, lemme tell you right now that he’s a pompous jerk who is suuuuper self-centered and thinks he’s perfect in every form and every way! S-Sure he trains super hard to be where he is and he actually messes up a lot of the time—and I MEAN A LOT but h-he’s totally not worth your time, Lady Camilla! Nope, uh uh, not at all, he’s not even that great when you think about it.” Selena crammed in, her voice increasing in volume throughout, causing more and more attention towards their table. Hinoka sat stunned, Camilla’s foot all but gone, her hand now calmly reaching to Selena’s cheek.

                “Selena…” Camilla started. She had such a peculiar smile on her face, Hinoka was certain she was embarrassed.

                “Ah…I mean Tsubaki is a good guy. I think he would go well with any girl, maybe.” The redhead shrugged, picking up her empty dishes and smiling at the group. “I have to head back and finish cleaning. I’ll see you later, Setsuna, Camilla. And it was nice talking to you again, Selena!” She waved lazily before turning, tuning out the sounds of what sounded like high pitched whispering and a confused voice mumbled in the distance.

                Ah, well…

* * *

 

                “Sakura!” Elise cried, having had watched the teen trip and fall while carrying supplies. Carefully placing her own basket aside, the young princess rushed over her friend, who was slowly pulling herself up at this point. She gasped when she saw the first sign of tears start to fall from the girls sweet face, a little cut on her cheek already beginning to bleed.                                                                                    

                “E-E-Elise?”

                “Shh, it’s okay.” Elise reassured, grabbing Sakura’s hands and slowly helping her all the way up to her feet. “It’s just a tiny cut.” Sakura sniffled, watching Elise as the blonde gently tried to touch the skin around the cut. The priestess hissed at the contact and Elise couldn’t help but frown. “You must have bruised it. It looks like its swelling.”

                “I’m gonna have a b-bruise on my cheek?!” Sakura allowed a few more tears to fall, making a face when a tear came into contact with the cut. “I-Is it really that bad?”

                “I might be able help.” Elise smiled, cupping some of Sakura’s pink hair and tucking it around her ear. “C’mon, we still have some supplies left from when we treated your brother! Unless you want to use a staff?”

                “We…No. We’re already so short on staves and healing supplies. I don’t think we should risk it for a tiny cut.” Sakura explained, allowing herself to be guided through the mess by Elise.

                “Hmm…Fair enough. I suppose.” The other sighed, grinning when she was able to find a place for Sakura to sit. “We have a bit of the poultice’s left, right?”

                “I think we had some in my basket.” Sakura replied, Elise hurrying off to find it. It was just a bruise. And a little cut. She wasn’t going to die or anything—her anxiety was insane, however; her heart was beating so incredibly fast and loud she barely heard Elise fall.

                Elise was far louder in her cries of pain, scaring Sakura at first she fell off her chair. Eventually they found each other, a blubbering mess of young princesses, respectfully injured. Sakura sat with Elise as the girl cried, brushing back some of the blondes bangs to expose a cut, just like her own, on the girls forehead.

                “I’m going to be ugly!” Elise cried, Sakura’s basket in her lap as she rubbed at her eyes.

                “N-No you won’t! You’ll still be the cutest girl I know!” Sakura tried, smiling when Elise calmed down to mere sniffling.

                “Really?”

                “Of course.” Sakura hummed, nearly forgetting about her own injury when she leaned in to hug her friend. “Ow!”

                “Hehe.” Elise giggled, gently rubbing at her forehead. “We’re kind of a mess right now, aren’t we?”

                “…You’re right.” Sakura giggled along, thankful that Elise was so easily humored. “We can patch each other up. I think we have enough.”

                “Sounds good.” The blonde smiled back, pulling the basket into the middle, balancing on their legs. It was quick work, for both of them, considering these were technically not terrible cuts—simply scratches in the larger scheme of things. But it was nice to have someone to cry to, as well as someone to laugh to, for such trivial things like this. Sakura was finished first, her fingers ever so carefully smoothing out the bandage. At least it would be semi-concealed by the others bangs. Elise worked slower, but there was a special kind of healing that came with it, Sakura learned. Just as Elise finished Sakura’s bandaging, she leaned in and gave a tiny kiss to the priestess’ cheek.

                “All done! With the power of love!” Sakura couldn’t help but giggle from that, touching the still swelling mark with affection. Yes, a very special kind of healing that only Elise could deliver.

                “All done.” She hummed, placing a peck herself onto Elise’s forehead.

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen to me  
> LISTEN TO ME  
> I HAVE FAILED YOU ALL  
> I LAST UPDATED IN JULY  
> MFING JULY  
> IM SO SORRY  
> lol @ my MIs for making things so incredibly difficult all the god damn time  
> @handsome-san.tumblr.com come bother me more often and remind me to write omfg
> 
> This is very unedited and I will have to come back later. But for now, I wanted yall to have some form of an update  
> <3   
> Ringo


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